


St Gloriana and the Boys of Yorkshire: Coat of Arms

by LordPerkins



Series: St Gloriana and the Boys of Yorkshire [2]
Category: Girls und Panzer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:20:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 39,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26194030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordPerkins/pseuds/LordPerkins
Summary: A new style of tournament comes to Japan and old faces will have to use new allies to survive. Some more literally than others.
Series: St Gloriana and the Boys of Yorkshire [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1647985
Kudos: 2





	1. White Christmas

The snow was falling gently outside the castle of Arundel. In the ballroom of the castle, a group of people were enjoying their Christmas as best they could, considering all that had happened to them in the past few months. Scott Perkins looked around from his seat; to his immediate right, his fiancée, Darjeeling laid her head on his shoulder, lightly dozing, she was wearing the locket he had given her for their first Christmas together and looking as beautiful as ever. Her mother sat with the most unlikely of dinner companions: Shiho Nishizumi, they were talking about… something, Scott wasn't sure he wanted to know, but they seemed to be getting along. Assam and her fiancé, Joshua Hall were napping on the couch at the moment after having been on the dance floor for several hours. On the other side of the room though, Joshua's brother, Foster and his girlfriend, Rosehip, were still twirling around and around without a care in the world. Orange Pekoe and her boyfriend, Stanley Stewart were sitting across from Scott and Darjeeling, happily holding each other after the massive feast they had been treated to.

Both of Shiho's daughters had come with their mother. Maho had brought her girlfriend, Erika, while Miho had brought her fiancé, and father-to-be of her child, Günther Rommel. Scott felt bad for the lad, whereas Shiho had reacted to the news of Miho's pregnancy with concern but joy, Günther's parents had reacted with rage, so much rage, that they ended up disowning their only son. Scott frowned at that recollection but took heart when he looked to his half-sister, the currently Duchess of Norfolk, Terre Robbins. He knew that the Rommel's were always looking to raise their social standing and he knew that his half-sister was planning an elaborate prank, where she would employ Miho and Günther after they finished school.

Just then, a butler sped over to Terre and whispered into her ear. It was clear to Scott that he was concerned about something. After he finished speaking with Terre, the butler bowed slightly and walked off. Terre turned to Scott and spoke softly, "Do you know a 'Lord Bannockburn' Scott?" she asked.

Frowning, Scott shook his head, "The only information on Bannockburn I have is the stuff from history," he remarked. At Terre's questioning glance he explained, "Bannockburn is the site of the turning point in Edward II's campaign against Robert the Bruce which led to an independent Scotland for a few hundred years until James I," he paused before adding, "It's also a decent song from the Swedish group 'Sabaton' regarding that battle."

Terre sighed softly and Scott was worried, "What's wrong Sis?"

Terre shrugged, "Could be nothing, but Lord Bannockburn is pestering the grounds crews demanding to speak with me regarding 'matters pertaining to the Japanese delegation' whatever that means."

Scott snorted, waking Darjeeling, "Doesn't he realise it's late on Christmas Day?" then he realised he woke Darjeeling, "Sorry love." He muttered, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Darjeeling for her part groggily wrapped her arms around Scott, "Tired love," she murmured.

Scott knew what she was trying to tell him and turned to Terre, "I think we'll just head up to bed Sis; see you in the morning and good luck with this Bannockburn."

Terre wished him a good night before Scott picked Darjeeling up and carried her off to their room. It didn't take long before others started dispersing for their rooms as well, leaving Terre to meet this "Lord Bannockburn".

Once she made it to the greeting room, she carefully studied the man in front of her, Lord Bannockburn was a spindly man who carried himself with purpose. He also wore the trappings of a Scottish Earl and, as such, bowed deeply once she entered the room, "Rise Earl Bannockburn, what is this matter you wish to raise to me?" she asked curtly, she did want to head to her bed after all.

Earl Bannockburn raised his head, "To be brief Your Grace, I have heard through some international contacts I have that you and the members of the Sensha-dō team from St Gloriana will be taking part in a more rigorous tournament that will last months. And not in the usual sense, but that was all they could come up with."

Terre displayed a mask of coolness, but inside she was concerned, "A new tournament format? What are they going to throw at us?" she wondered before giving a curt nod, "Thank you for bringing this to my attention Bannockburn, now, I shall retire."

Bannockburn bowed his head, "Of course Your Grace, goodnight, and Happy Christmas." He said before leaving.

After he left, Terre when to her dressing room to undress for the evening, all the while, her mind worried over this possible new style of tankery tournament. By the time she laid her head on her pillow, she had come up with several possible worst-case scenarios to keep her up all night, suffering nightmares.

* * *

Once morning came, Terre rubbed her eyes as an attendant roused her. For her part, the attendant was surprised it didn't take much to rouse her since Terre had a bit of a reputation as being rather difficult to wake up, "Is everything alright Milady?" she asked.

Terre yawned, "Yes Julia, just a rough night of sleep last night," she groused, not wanting to cause unnecessary worry. Sitting up, she stretched and stood up, "What's on the docket today?" she asked.

Julia raised an eyebrow, "Milady, it's Boxing Day, the day is yours to do with as you please, remember?"

Terre absently nodded and dismissed her. Rather than do as she normally did and relax after serving the Duchess, Julia walked to the breakfast table with a purpose. Thankfully Scott was already up, and he and Darjeeling were the only ones at the table, "Good morning Julia, is everything all right? You look worried."

Julia took a deep breath, "Milord, it's the Duchess, she said she had a rough night, hence why it was so easy to wake her this morning. But then she had to be reminded that it was Boxing Day today," she replied.

Scott frowned, that was quite out of character for Terre indeed. Noticing his quietness, Julia excused herself, leaving Darjeeling and Scott alone. Scott turned to Darjeeling, "I'm willing to bet that Lord Bannockburn told her something and she blew it out of proportion."

Darjeeling sighed, it did sound like Terre to a degree, "But what could he have told her?" she asked.

Scott sighed, knowing there was very little that could upset her, "It probably had something to do with me, you've seen how protective of me she is."

Darjeeling nodded but didn't say anything as people started to enter for breakfast.

As they ate breakfast, Shiho suddenly spoke up, "Since we're all here, I thought I'd give you a preview of the meeting on the first of the year since it will change any plans you have for the remainder of the school year," she began before looking around, "There's a new type of tournament coming, where you not only will be using tanks, you'll be using infantry and planes. Now the Federation has negotiated with some schools around the globe to make this possible, they were puzzled what to do about Ōarai considering that you are using a multi-nation armoured corps, but I persuaded them to form a multi-nation coalition for you Miho," she reassured before looking down slightly, "But the Tournament will take five months and you will be on the battlefield for the entirety of it, hence why we've been speeding through the material for this year in classes. You will not be done until you are completely knocked out."

You could have heard a pin drop after hearing that. However, instead of a pin, they heard Terre collapse to the ground. Scott sighed, it was clear that Bannockburn brought Terre information on this and she was worried about it. After she had been brought around, she looked to Shiho, "What is the format of this tournament?"

Shiho sighed, "They're dubbing it 'the World War tournament' it'll start on the first of February and last until the first of June. I'll get into the specifics of the rules on the first of the new year, but suffice it to say, this is going to be very different to the Sensha-dō you're used to."

Scott hmphed, "Well that works for us," he remarked. This drew everyone's attention to him and he took Darjeeling's hand, "We decided that we want to get married on the sixth of June, this just means that we'll be busy after the tournament unless we get knocked out early."

Miho nodded, "It works well for us as well as Günther and I want to get married on the twenty-second of June."

Lady Grey looked to Scott and Darjeeling, "Are you sure you'll be able to plan, prepare, and practice for your wedding in less than five days?" she asked.

Darjeeling looked to Scott, who just gestured to her, "We wanted to keep our wedding small, so, apart from everyone here right now and their immediate families, we're inviting the Dawson's since they did so much for Scott," she remarked, before leaning against him, "And, should the Duchess of Norfolk be receptive to us, we would have our wedding on the grounds here," she finished.

Terre nodded, "Of course, my home is your home, or rather the reverse in this case."

This brought a chuckle to most everyone before Shiho grabbed their attention again, "I was hoping that maybe Scott could tell me a bit about the European and American schools and their programs."

Scott nodded, "Of course, who are they?" he replied.

At this Shiho pulled out a list and began reading, Scott would offer little remarks, often bringing up who their equivalent in Sensha-dō would be in terms of style. Then she got to the British schools, "Wellesley Academy for the Gifted."

Scott pursed his lips, clearly not happy about that, "A school aboard HMSS Illustrious, they typically draw their student pool from two sources: the rich who have prodigies, and the poorer who have some form of learning disability, good kids, but the staff clearly favour the rich kids," he remarked, "Who are they going to?"

Shiho grimaced, "St Gloriana, they'll be your air force," she replied before looking further on her list. "Meanwhile, your infantry will be from the Highland Academy for youngsters."

Scott didn't say anything for a moment, causing everyone to look at him, but his face betrayed no emotion. Finally, he spoke, "The Highland Academy for Youngsters, HMSS Hood, there's a friendly rivalry between the Yorkshire School for Young Gentlemen and them, they're a good lot."

Shiho and Darjeeling suspected there was something more, but chose not to press the matter right now, "Finally, there's an unaligned school called East High." Shiho concluded.

Scott actually smiled, "East High caters to the east coast of the United States, I actually have a friend who attends there, his name's Carolus Gustavus Adolphus, and he's about as Swedish as you can get. He used to be their Warfare Sports Commander, but they've changed things for some reason or another, they used to use strictly WWII German equipment but under an old Swedish doctrine, invented by Carolus Rex, one the Kings of Sweden and the last monarch to die on the battlefield, in the world. They advance to close range, let loose a couple of volleys, before engaging in hand-to-hand combat."

Shiho furrowed her brow, "Tell me, Scott, did your friend tell you about a Vladimir Lavrinenko? Apparently, he's the new…" she began, trailing off when she saw his thunderous expression.

Scott may have kept everyone guessing what he thought about the Highland school, but everyone took a slight step back from Scott, even Darjeeling, "Unfortunately yes, nobody's been able to pin anything on him, but it's known on the American circuit that he plays loose with regulations, to put some perspective," he remarked, "He probably wouldn't be averse to executing POWs as they were surrendering."

Everyone frowned but Scott wasn't even close to done, "Carolus and I have been corresponding since we last saw each other, and he has been keeping me informed of the happenings there, they went from being modelled, in terms of discipline and tactics, after the Swedish Empire under Carolus Rex, to being modelled after when I can only describe as the Waffen SS."

This brought out a collective gasp from most of the women and looks of disgust from the men, as no one could comprehend why anyone would want to model themselves off of them. After that, no one really wanted to talk about the tournament, so Rosehip obliged, "So what made you four choose the dates you did?" she asked Scott, Darjeeling, Günther and Miho.

Günther and Miho saw what she was doing so answered first, "Well, it gives us a little over a month to adjust to being married before having to adjust to being parents, so we figured that we would have enough time then," Günther replied.

Everyone nodded, it made a lot of sense for them, but then Rosehip turned to Darjeeling with the same question. Darjeeling though, turned to Scott who smiled, "We chose the sixth of June, not for the anniversary of Operation Overlord, but because it was the soonest we could justify having our wedding while also waiting for the end of our school year."

Soon everyone one was talking about the weddings and what they would need to do, but at that moment, Darjeeling and Scott were thinking about the new tournament, for some reason, they had a bad feeling about it, but they couldn't put their finger on it. Darjeeling only hoped it wouldn't prove as disastrous as her other bad feeling…


	2. New Year's Troubles

As everyone woke up on New Year's Day, they all remembered that they were back on their school ships, though they would be meeting up later that day. Scott and Darjeeling were both the first to awake at St Gloriana and they set about their morning routine. Soon, everyone else was awake and they were on their way to the Sensha-dō Federation's main offices for this meeting.

Once they arrived and said hello to Miho and Günther, they sat towards the back of the room and Scott began scanning the faces of each person in the room. Everyone was either a commander or part of the command staff. He spied many nervous faces. Suddenly, he felt his shoulder being tapped. Turning to face the person drawing his attention, his face grew into a massive smile, "Carolus, it's good to see you again my friend."

Carolus gave a weary smile, he looked quite tired, though Scott assumed that was down to the change in time zones, "It's better from my point of view my old friend, how's it been? Last I heard from you, you were just about to ship out to St Gloriana."

Scott smirked, "Ah you know, won a few battles, abdicated the Dukedom in favour of a half-sister I didn't know about six months ago, got engaged."

Carolus blinked once, then twice before shaking his head, "You know, coming from anyone other than you, I would have thought you were crazy," he remarked before sitting down, "So, who's the lucky lady? Or is that the miss sitting next to you?" he asked.

Scott's smirk grew, "Carolus, let me introduce you to the lovely Lady Darjeeling, my fiancée, Darjeeling, this is Carolus."

Darjeeling smiled, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Adolphus, Scott's told me a few things about you."

Carolus laughed, "All good things I hope," he chuckled, then he turned to Scott, "You sure know how to pick them, Scott, she seems to like you already," he replied before sighing.

Scott figured he knew what his problem was, "Jess didn't last?" he asked and Carolus' downtrodden face was all the answer he needed, "Ah well, the one for you is out there for you Carolus, you just have to persevere through the heartbreak. Other than that, what's been going on, I was too busy with transitioning to Japan to write, but I planned to, I haven't heard anything from you though, everything alright?"

Carolus sighed, "They've been running me into the ground ever since I was dismissed as 'The Supreme Warfare Team Commander', I think they want me to forget about it and capitulate to this new way. I cannot though, it disturbs me, and I worry what will happen in this tournament. The new Supreme Commander has no restraint."

Scott sighed, it was worst then he had feared, but he had no time to reflect on what Carolus had told him as Shiho Nishizumi stepped to the stand and a quiet hush fell upon the room, "Good morning and for many of you, welcome to Japan. I am Shiho Nishizumi, Chairwoman of the Japanese Sensha-dō Federation. You are here today to begin the long process of integrating your teams into a single unit to represent your faction in the World War tournament. There will be three types of combat involved with this tournament, Infantry, Armoured, and the Air Force. For each faction, bar a few exceptions, there will be three schools taking part, one for each discipline. This tournament will take place on an island in the pacific, you will be dropped off on February 1st and the tournament will end on the first of June. As there is an Infantry element to this, it will be possible to get knocked out, and for the purposes of the tournament, being knocked out is different to being 'dead', guidebooks will be given out to everyone following the conclusion of this event to assist you in determining which is which. You have been given the names of your counterparts from our major schools. Good Luck."

After she finished, everyone stood up and began mingling with their team. Soon Carolus had to depart but said farewell to Scott and Darjeeling. Then they turned to talk with the four people approaching. Scott quickly scanned them with his eyes, the gentlemen clad in a Royal Air Force Service Dress uniform, bearing the rank of Wing Commander no less, strolled up to them, and Scott internally groaned, this one seemed to have a stick up his arse, "Good day, I am Alexandre Norton, Commander of the Wellesley Academy for the Gifted's Air Force, and you are?"

Scott mentally sighed and gave a look to Darjeeling, and received a nod in return, "I am Lord Scott Perkins GC, formerly Duke of Norfolk and this is my fiancée Darjeeling."

Alexandre seemed to stumble for a second before the girl wearing a Royal Army Parade Dress uniform spoke up, "Forgive Norton, he seems to have left his manners on Illustrious," she replied, throwing a glare at him before introducing herself, "Elizabeth Wellesley, Commander for the Highland Academy's Infantry force, it's an honour to meet you two Lord Perkins, Lady Darjeeling," she said before gesturing to their companions, "The one in the Royal Marines uniform is David Hood, my Second in Command, and the girl in civvies is Charlotte York, Chief of the Ground Crews for the Air Force."

Scott smiled and shook their hands before speaking, "A pleasure to meet you all, and please, call me Scott," he said before turning to Alexandre, "Not you," he said.

Darjeeling then spoke, "Tomorrow we shall discuss the position of Supreme Commander. Come to our office at St Gloriana with some ideas in mind."

With that, everyone departed. Darjeeling looked to Scott, "What do you think?" she asked in a hushed tone as they were leaving the hall.

Scott smiled and waved at Miho before whispering to her "The two girls and Hood seem like decent people, but Norton is going to be a problem, if he doesn't get his way, I suspect he'll throw his toys out of his pram."

Darjeeling rolled her eyes, "Archibald 2.0?"

Scott sighed, "I wish, I could deal with that, but he seems different, more arrogant and conceited in certain respects yet more sensible in others, we'll have to watch him." Then he thought about something, "How is the Supreme Commander being determined?"

Darjeeling shrugged, "That's why I want to hear ideas, I'd be fine taking orders from anyone minus Norton."

Scott nodded, and they walked to the car that would take them back to the Ark Royal. After returning, they got many questions, of which they could only answer a few stating that they were going over the rulebook with a fine comb to know what was against the rules of the new tournament.

* * *

The next morning; Josh, Assam, Scott, and Darjeeling were sitting in their office when in came the four from yesterday and an additional boy and girl. Seeing their interest, Elizabeth smiled, "Allow me to introduce Lieutenant William Wallace, Commander of my Special Forces Unit, and Sergeant Elisa Wood, Commander of the Sniper Unit."

Scott nodded to them, "Sergeant, Lieutenant, please take a seat and we can begin."

Listening to Scott, though begrudgingly for Norton, they all took a seat and listened to Darjeeling, "Seeing as though we all have different backgrounds and specialities, it is my hope that we will be able to solve the current question with minimal fuss," she remarked, almost directing her last comment to Alexandre, she continued though, "Regarding the position of the Supreme Commander, I recommend we take a vote on the matter, anyone can nominated anyone, sans themselves, and we shall vote," she finished, before sitting, "I do not have a nominee, strictly on the grounds of my relationship with the person I would have recommended."

Turning and gesturing to Scott, he also announced his abstaining from the nomination process, due to a similar judgement cloud. Since Josh nor Assam could vote on the matter, Darjeeling turned to Elizabeth, "Regardless of your relations with the man in question Lady Darjeeling," she began, "I would agree with the concept, therefore I nominate Lord Perkins to the position of Supreme Commander of the British Force."

One by one, Darjeeling asked each person for their nominee, and they all said that they seconded Elizabeth's nomination, or, in the case of Alexandre, abstained. Then Darjeeling smiled, "This appears to be a formality, but the motion before us is the confirmation of Scott Perkins to the position of Supreme Commander. As many as of that opinion, say Ay!"

Five Ayes when up, then Darjeeling had to ask, even though it was clear of the majority's decision, "On the contrary, no!"

Only one no went up, and that was from Alexandre. Scott stood, "I shall endeavour to ensure that this trust that you have placed in my abilities is not misplaced." Then he gestured to Assam, "And now for our masterpiece."

Removing the cloth covering the table, Josh and Assam powered up an electronic 3d model of the island they were going to be on. Seeing the awe in some of their faces, Scott felt obligated to explain, "It turns out that Lady Assam is a bit of a technical wizard, as this had been something she had been cooking up since starting here at St Gloriana, and, due to our close relationship with the daughter of the Chairwoman, it was possible to obtain various maps for the island we are going to be spending five months on," he said before pushing a button near him. Suddenly, the table came to life, projecting a blinking red light near one of the beaches on the southeast of the island, "This is our landing zone, old troop transports will drop us and all of our starting equipment at this point on the first of February, supply drops containing equipment, ammo, and spare parts will be made every Sunday and Wednesday at these locations," he said, pushing another button and displaying about a dozen green circles dotted around the island, "For obvious reasons, we are not allowed to set up camp within those circles, therefore, our first task is to determine a suitable site that we can use for our base where our aircraft can take off and land, yet near enough to be resupplied and that we can build an airstrip in five hours."

Each of the commanders looked over the holographic map with interest, then Charlotte made a noise, causing everyone to look at her, "Ms York, what do you see?" Scott asked.

Gesturing to a spot about five miles inland from their landing point, Charlotte explained, "We could set up AA guns there and have our combat engineers build a basic airstrip in the time allotted, provided we reach it in about three hours, maybe less if we push it."

Scott looked over the point she was suggesting, enhanced the image, and began placing a model airstrip and garage down with accompanying defences and faculties, and soon the camp took shape. Finishing, Scott looked at each of the commanders, "Thoughts?" he asked.

Before them, a small but highly defensible base took form, it was far enough out of the way that you wouldn't stumble onto it accidentally, yet close enough to the supply drop that it would be easy to resupply. Elizabeth smiled, "Good eye Ms York, I think that'll work wonders for us."

Charlotte seemed extremely pleased to be receiving some praise, and Darjeeling noticed but chose not to say anything publicly, Scott in the meanwhile, looked to Elizabeth and Alexandre, "Do you think your people can handle it?" he asked, mostly to Alexandre.

Elizabeth nodded, but before she could speak, Alexandre interrupted, "Of course we can," he boasted.

Scott nodded, "Alright, then, barring any major changes, our plan for the first couple days will be to reach, build and maintain supply to our base, following which, we can look to conducting operations against other schools," he said, before turning to Elizabeth, "Miss Wellesley, remain a few moments, everyone else, you may leave to acclimatise yourself to the ship."

Thankfully for Scott, no one asked questions and Darjeeling remained behind as well. Elizabeth was confused, but not for long, "I figured that since you were going to be on the ground like us, it would be a good idea to discuss the infantry commanders with you if you didn't know them," Scott explained.

Elizabeth nodded, then thought for a moment, "There's just one, Carolus Adolphus of East High, the rest I know pretty well."

Scott smiled, "Well, I can tell you a lot about Carolus, he's a good friend of mine," he replied, "Carolus tends to favour tactics similar to that of Carolus Rex of Sweden, the last monarch in history to die on the battlefield. He will get close, let loose a couple of volleys then come to close-quarters combat, he tends to determine how many volleys to fire with how many it takes to confuse the enemy before charging."

Elizabeth thought for a moment, "How many battles has he won?"

Scott's face fell, "All of them."

Elizabeth's face shot up in concern before Darjeeling interjected, "But it's doubtful he will be able to execute his preferred battleplan against us considering his Supreme Commander styles their tactics off of the Waffen SS."

Scott nodded, but Elizabeth was confused, "Why would anyone model anything after them?"

Scott sighed, "That's the million-pound question, and Carolus wasn't able to enlighten us when we saw him yesterday. However, the why isn't as important as the how far he is willing to model them after the SS, and Carolus mentioned that this Vladimir Lavrinenko, the Supreme Commander had little to no restraint," he replied, but when he looked up at Elizabeth, he noticed she was pale, "Miss Wellesley?"

Elizabeth sat shakily, clearly disturbed by something, when she finally spoke, they were sorely wishing they hadn't asked, "Lavrinenko's father is ex-KGB, though he seems to have forgotten the ex part."

Scott frowned, that concerned him, but it was what she said next that chilled him to the bone, "I have a bad feeling about this."

After hearing that, Darjeeling began swearing up a storm. Scott, being part Irish, was shocked at the length of her vocabulary, but upon seeing Elizabeth's shocked face, was quick to explain, "Whenever any of the women around me claim to 'have a bad feeling' about something, I'm usually at the centre of it, and it's worst then your worst nightmares, this time, not only have Darjeeling and I had bad feelings about this tournament, now someone completely independent of us has. To say that I am concerned is an understatement."

Elizabeth took a long look at Scott, if he hadn't said anything, she wouldn't have figured he was worried at all, in fact, he looked almost resigned to his fate. When she pointed that out, Scott chuckled, "I am not resigned to my fate, rather, I am preparing for any and all possibilities."

Elizabeth was bewildered but respected Scott, so when he gestured for her to leave, she did so, leaving Scott with a still swearing Darjeeling. Sighing, Scott stood up and walked over to Darjeeling and pressed his lips to hers, silencing her for a moment and refocusing her. When they parted for air, he smiled at her, "We'll tackle this the same as we tackled the other times, one step at a time," he whispered, before brushing a stray hair behind her ear and resting his forehead against hers, "I won't die, at least not until seeing our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren at the very least."

Darjeeling's stomach flipped hearing him say our children, but his words weren't enough to convince her, or himself for that matter, that this tournament would be smooth sailing. They would be shocked to find out how right they were, without being close at all…


	3. Balls and Hatred

Later that day, after Scott managed to calm Darjeeling, they were going over their wardrobe since, much to no one's surprise, well, no one who had attended at the beginning of the year, the Headmistress decided to throw a ball that night. When David had asked if this was normal, Scott and Darjeeling looked at each other and said, "You get used to it."

As it stood, Darjeeling had picked out her dress, the same that she had worn on their first date. This only left Scott's clothes to pick out. Scott looked at the suits Darjeeling had rejected, part of his mind wondering what the fuss was about, while the more sensible part of his mind knew better than to ask. Finally, he saw something that caught his eye, "Darling? What about the suit I wore to our first date?" he asked.

Darjeeling spun to face him as he picked up his blazer and trousers, looking closely, she hummed, "My only concern is that I will have a hard time keeping myself off you long enough to dance."

Scott huffed, "And you think I don't have that issue day in and day out?" he asked incredulously. Seeing Darjeeling's smirk told him all he needed to know, "You minx!" he exclaimed, gently pulling her into his arms. This caused them to fall back onto the bed in each other's arms where they lay for a while, nuzzling each other, Scott then pulled back and smiled at her, "As much as I'd love to take this to its conclusion, I'd rather nobody have reason to search for us tonight."

Darjeeling sighed, she knew he was right, but it was so easy to lose themselves in each other's embrace. Scott smirked at seeing the debate rage within Darjeeling, "Only 154 more sunrises my sweet, then you can have your wicked way with me all you want."

Darjeeling grew a massive grin, "You should be careful with what you suggest to me, I might just take you up on that."

Scott chuckled, "Watch what I say, or let my wife take advantage of me when she wants, the latter option doesn't sound that bad, to be frank."

Darjeeling pushed herself up using his chest as support, a smile gracing her lips, the previous panic earlier that day forgotten, "Well, I'll just have that much time to come up with all sorts of inventive things to do on our wedding night then."

Scott chuckled, but sat up, "we'd best get changed else that search party will come for us," he remarked.

* * *

Later that day, in the hall, Josh and Assam were amongst the first to arrive at the ball. Much like everyone else, they were slightly curious as to why Scott and Darjeeling hadn't beaten them there but also had the sense to not worry about it. They, on the other hand, were paying close attention to the relative foreigners and their interactions with the St Gloriana students. For the most part, there was no cause for alarm, as they were treating each other with due respect. Then they turned their heads and frowned, some of the Wellesley students had come most decidedly overdressed in the most pompous way possible. Seeing their disdain, William Wallace, the SpecOps commander for Highland, walked over to them, "Don't worry, you get used to it," he remarked.

Josh sighed, "We are well used to dealing with pompous arses I'm afraid, I just wish there weren't so many of them."

William sighed as David walked up, "I'm afraid it's worst then you'd think," he remarked, drawing everyone's attention, "Don't you see, that's all of the Wellesley students that showed up, they're all pompous arses because they bullied the poorer students to stay away."

Josh noticed the state David was working himself into, "Everything alright David? You look quite agitated."

David was about to explode, but he remembered where he was and took a couple deep breathes, "One of the Wellesley students who was bullied to stay away was Charlotte York, you know, the Chief of Maintenance for Wellesley," he began, waiting until Josh nodded and knew who he was talking about, "Well, she and I have been secretly dating for two years now."

Josh blinked, "Why tell us if this is supposed to be a secret?" he asked.

William shrugged, "It's an open secret at Highland, the only people who David is trying to keep it a secret from is the wankers from Wellesley, who would up their treatment of the poor lass."

Josh and Assam both frowned, growing ever more concerned with their allies with each passing moment. Eventually, Josh spoke of their concerns, "Lord Perkins and Lady Darjeeling are understanding people in most circumstances, but I fear Wellesley may outstay their welcome if they keep on that path."

"Let us see if your fears turn into something concrete Josh," Scott said, spooking most of their companions, "Seems as though I still have the touch," he murmured.

Josh was the first to recover, "Well, I was wondering when you'd show up Scott," he replied. Then he gestured to the Wellesley students, "Seems though your concerns weren't just confined to the one."

Scott frowned, and Darjeeling sighed, "As much as I would like to remind you what happened last time, we do need them, though, we'll bench the ones who don't play nice." He whispered.

Soon people were dancing, and it seemed to be going far better than the last ball St Gloriana hosted. Scott and Darjeeling were dancing but they were also waiting for the other shoe to drop since they knew that people with a superiority complex wouldn't keep quiet for long.

* * *

Much to everyone's surprise, nobody outwardly caused any issues. Whether they were privately discontented, well, they had good reason not to find out. After the ball though, Scott and Darjeeling were sitting at home, their friends giving them some much-appreciated privacy. They were looking over two reports from each of their allies, regarding their strength and equipment. Scott had half a mind to swear up a storm; he was reading the reports from Wellesley and he wasn't happy. They had quite impressive planes: the expected Spitfires, Beaufighters, some B-17s, but it was the Avro Lancaster's and de Havilland Mosquitos that caught his eye, then he saw something that stunned him, "A bloody Meteor? How'd they get that?" he muttered, but then he saw the crew allocations, which caused his current wave of anger. Each of the students were designated with either an R or P, indicating their wealth, and all the pilots were designated with an R, whilst all the Maintenance personnel were designated with a P.

Darjeeling had noticed his disposition, and decided to wait, knowing that he would explain when he felt able. She wasn't waiting for long, "All our pilots are the rich of Wellesley. The poor students are maintenance crews."

Darjeeling frowned at that, "That's a recipe for discourse and disaster just waiting for a spark."

Scott sighed and covered his face; he could already see dozens of incidents forming in his mind between their air cover and the rest of the alliance. The task before him suddenly seemed impossible, even with help from Darjeeling. He then picked up a sheet of paper that had fallen off the table, he was about to put it away when he read what was on it and suddenly smiled, "I think I know what to do."

Darjeeling looked at him, but he wouldn't share, he just said that all would be apparent in the morning. Sighing, she hoped he hadn't snapped under the pressure already, but she would just have to see in the morning…


	4. Team Building

Many people were wondering what Scott had in plan for them, though the crowd from Yorkshire knew better than to ask questions. Everyone was standing outside the garages. Seeing as though they were the most experienced with Scott, Elizabeth approached the small group of Josh, Assam, Foster, and Stanley; Rosehip, Pekoe and Darjeeling were with Scott, so she couldn't ask them. It was Josh who noticed her first, "Ah, Miss Wellesley, what can we do for you?"

Elizabeth smiled, "Actually, you could explain what we're getting into Mr Hall, what is the Commander planning?" she asked.

Josh sighed, "Went we last saw him this morning, he hadn't even told Darjeeling what the plan was, so we have no idea."

Elizabeth frowned, but her follow-up question died in her throat as Scott and his entourage walked in. Scott smiled as he saw all twelve hundred students standing there, "Good morning everyone, I figured that to build a sense of comradery amongst us and to train everyone for the inevitable, we would conduct a little infantry competition."

Seeing every one of the Highland academy students grow grins, he decided to end their joy, "There will be three teams, and each team will get an even number of Highland students, so as to not have one side completely dominate the exercise. Miss Wood, if you would go with the pilots, Mr Hood, if you would go with the ground crews and if Mr Wallace would head with the Sensha-dō team."

Quickly deflating the Highland students, Scott then broke everyone up into teams, one team of the Sensha-dō team, one of the pilots from Wellesley and another from the maintenance teams from each of the schools. He then had them form their command structure at their leisure as weapons were handed out, "For members of the Sensha-dō team and the Pilots, these rifles fire bullets of chalk with little electrodes in the centre of them, the design of which mean that if you are hit with one in centre-mass, you will be shocked and you will go down, at which point you will be incapacitated until you are retrieved by an official, in non-lethal areas, the shocks will become greater the longer the electrode stays on you and isn't removed by a medic, bayonets are collapsible and provide a similar electrical charge. Your bombs for your planes work on the same principle as the grenades, with the only difference being that there are more electrodes in your bombs and their also coded to knock out a tank if you hit it just right. Any questions?" he asked.

A hand went up in the back, "What about Sensha-dō shells?"

Scott thought for a moment, "Sensha-dō shells are configured to shatter upon impact, and a computer onboard the tanks register the relevant information to determine whether or not a tank is knocked out. I am told that after my incident during the last season, the shells are being reworked extensively to ensure a similar situation will never again occur. Though shells should never be fired at infantry in the first place, that's why there's a Machine Gun on the Commander's Cupola."

Seeing no further questions, Scott dismissed everyone to head for their starting zones. However, he motioned for Elizabeth to follow him, "Since you're the Commander of our Infantry, I'd like your help in observing this match to teach me what I should be looking for."

Elizabeth nodded, "Of course Milord," she replied.

Reaching the observation tower, she asked the question that had been bugging her since he announced what they were doing, "Why are you doing this, you gave some reasons, but I don't think you showed your entire hand, Milord."

Scott smirked, "My reasons are two-fold: firstly, it was as I said at the garages, in case the Sensha-dō crews are, for whatever reason, away from their tanks and if our pilots have to bail out, they won't be completely helpless," he began, causing her to nod, "The second reason is to knock the pilots down a peg."

Elizabeth looked at him confused, causing him to further elaborate, "In one of the files given to me by the Headmaster of Wellesley, it said that the ground crews were trained in Close-Quarters-Combat. However, the pilots weren't. seeing as though the same file showed that the ground crews often went to the shooting range and the pilots didn't and that I observed the superiority complex that the pilots have regarding their ground crews during the Ball last night, I thought this would serve both purposes, it would train the ones who need the training, and maybe it would knock the pilots' egos down a few pegs."

Elizabeth looked sceptical but said nothing. Instead, she looked to the screen displaying the footage that drones were recording, they showed the three teams strategizing at their starting zones, and she saw what he was getting at, whereas the Sensha-dō team and the ground crews were cooperating with the experienced infantry members and had integrated them with their command, the pilots had taken over their team and she recognised the frustration on Elisa's face. Before she could say anything, Scott grabbed the radio, "Match start!" he commanded.

As the flare went up, the teams began converging on each other, Elizabeth took a moment to study Scott, he didn't seem worried about the results, but he did seem focused, which was all she could ask for. She wouldn't kid herself, she had been worried when she was told about her partner schools for this tournament.

* * *

Meanwhile, with the Sensha-dō team, William and Darjeeling had formed two teams and split up to handle both teams at once. Each had an even spread of experience amongst the teams.

Looking once more over her kit, Rukuriri started to wonder what she had gotten herself into, she was, in her own opinion, a mediocre tank commander and it had been a while since she last fired a gun of any description. Now, she was taking part in a tournament that went well beyond that and she was scared. Suddenly a hand landed on her shoulder, "Allow yourself to relax lassie, often an overly worried soldier is just as much a hindrance as an overly cocky one," William remarked.

Rukuriri flushed, an apology on her tongue, but then William spoke again, "Don't worry too much about it, everyone gets first battle jitters, even the best of us," then he looked around, "Right people! Let's move out!" he ordered.

It wouldn't take long before the Sensha-dō team under William encountered another team, it was just his luck that he encountered the pilots and they were oblivious to their presence. Acting quickly, William sent three squads of ten around to the other side of them. Once they started moving out, he decided to pin them in place, so ordered a frontal assault.

The first indication that they had gotten away with it was when it took the pilots a good minute to determine where the shots were coming from, and since it was clear that the infantry was to only respond when spoken to and fire on orders, several went down. William would later estimate that about a quarter of the pilots' team went down in the first minute, meaning that it was two hundred against three hundred, still not the greatest odds, but the hope was to finish this fight quickly to reinforce Darjeeling. Then they heard something they didn't expect, "Charge!"

William turned to the people in the immediate area, a clear look of confusion on his face before barking out the order to affix bayonets and prepare for CQC. However, it ended up being relatively unnecessary as the students pulled off what British officers referred to as the "Mad Minute", firing their bolt action rifles as fast as they could. This ended up being decisive as by the time the pilot team reached their ranks, there was forty or so left. William had the misfortune of facing two people at the same time, he was certain that he was going down when they heard a loud howl that sounded female in nature, though they couldn't tell until Rukuriri charged through and in one motion, shot one of the pilots before jabbing the other, causing him to fall to the ground.

William looked up to Rukuriri, half in shock at what had just happened. Seeing his shock and mistaking it for horror, Rukuriri threw down her rifle and ran into the woods, away from everyone. Just as William was about to run after her, his comm came to life, "Focus Mister Wallace, I'll have someone pick up Rukuriri and a drone is tracking her. Focus on the mission."

William sighed, "Copy that Sir." He ground out.

* * *

Back at the observation tower, Elizabeth looked at Scott, his face drawn, "You can't blame her Milord," she began.

"I know," he interrupted, before looked at the screen that displayed Rukuriri's progress, as it was she was near to the middle of the forest, "She made a simple mistake reading his face and I think she's fallen for him," he remarked, drawing her attention, "I think that after this battle is done, Mister Wallace should talk with her, once we retrieve her."

Elizabeth thought for a moment, "Perhaps he's fallen for her as well."

Scott nodded, "Subconsciously perhaps, it may take a while for his mind to catch up," he agreed before looking down, "Not everyone can be as lucky as me," he muttered.

There was little surprise that Scott was looking at the screen showing Darjeeling's progress when he said that.

* * *

In the time it took William to find and destroy the pilot team, Darjeeling still hadn't found the ground crew team. She was beginning to wonder if they were condensed into one spot or really spread out. Suddenly, gunfire was heard all along the group and people started dropping, "Spread out and take cover, return fire!" she ordered.

Everyone quickly followed her orders and unleashed a hail of fire. By the lessening in the volume of fire, they could tell that they were being effective, though they too were falling quickly. Soon they heard a sound that was welcome, "Hello Darjeeling, sorry about the delay, pilots decided to close to a melee and were thoroughly smashed," William remarked.

Darjeeling smirked, "Well, you're here now, let's finish this."

And finish it they did. The final stages didn't take more than a few minutes, but it ended in a decisive victory for the Sensha-dō team. As they were finishing, Scott came over the comms, "Mr Wallace, your CO is driving to pick you up, then you will do as you wished earlier, she will drive you to within visual range but will not approach, that will be your job, clear?"

William's face twitched, "Copy sir."

Darjeeling looked confused, so he explained, "Rukuriri defeated two pilots who would have taken me down, but she ran into the forest afterwards."

Scott snorted over comms, making everyone glad he was on Commander's only comms, "She did a bit more than that Wallace, I would be surprised to see anyone else do as she did in as little time as she did," he remarked.

William nodded but Elizabeth arrived, "Ride's here, going radio silent."

* * *

It didn't take long for Elizabeth to drive to where Rukuriri had stopped and William made the remaining distance on foot. Much to his surprise, she didn't seem to hear his approach. So, he continued his approach until he was standing next to her, "Rukuriri?" he whispered.

Rukuriri jumped, she had been so engrossed in her own thoughts that she hadn't heard him until he spoke her name, but she was too ashamed to say anything.

William could see that he'd have to do most of the work here, so sat next to her, "What's wrong Rukuriri? What can I do to help?"

Hearing his concern for her was too much for her fragile state, so she did the only thing she could think of, she cried.

Seeing her cry broke his heart, so in a single motion, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

That action would prove to be decisive as Rukuriri gripped his uniform, almost afraid that if she let go, he would disappear. Elizabeth, for her part, was shocked at everything that had just happened but had enough sense to give them some privacy. So, after writing a note and leaving it in the jeep, she walked back to the garages. Before she left their line of sight, she looked back, a chill travelling down her spine. All of a sudden, she couldn't help but feel like this would be the last time she would see a happy scene for a long period of time…


	5. Debriefings and Children

Scott gathered all the section commanders in his office, not where the map of the battlefield was, to debrief. First, he decided to go over what was good, "Firstly, well done Darjeeling and William, for pulling a victory out of this exercise," he remarked before turning to Charlotte and David, "Well done you both for doing as well as you did, I think that if you hadn't focused so much on what you were engaging and thought about delaying William's force, you would have won, but I can see why you did what you did."

This brought a smile both of their faces, Scott had privately told them that he would do everything in his power to help them and their success meant that they would probably be assigned together. But the joyful atmosphere was brought down when Scott turned to Elisa and Alexandre, his displeasure could not be more plainly seen, "I am disappointed with your performance, the last time there was a butting of egos, Foster got shot," he remarked before crossing his arms in front of him, "If we have any chance at doing well in this tournament, unity will be required. Moreover, we all must understand when we are inexperienced in a matter and when we have someone who is more experienced, we should not be ashamed to ask for advice and help."

Alexandre was, by this point, so red, it was a wonder if there was any blood in the rest of his body, but Scott continued, "Elizabeth and I watched the whole match from the observation tower, I would have placed her with you Alexandre, but I needed help in learning what to watch for in infantry combat to be an effective leader."

At this point, Alexandre had had enough, "We're pilots! We're never going to fire a rifle! You did this just to humiliate us."

Instead of responding in anger, Scott stepped towards Alexandre, "Have you ever heard of the Doolittle raid Mr Norton?" he asked.

Alexander shook his head, "Ah, then let me enlighten you. In early 1942, April 18 to be exact, Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle of the US Army Air Force led a bombing raid on Tokyo Japan, it wasn't meant to be a strategic raid, rather a psychological attack on the Empire of Japan, to say 'we can hit you, you're not the only ones who can pull of a surprise attack.' However, after striping the B-17s for maximum range, and bombs, there wasn't going to be enough fuel for a return journey, even if there was, there wasn't enough room on the flight deck of the USS Hornet for a B-17 to land. Therefore, the pilots bailed over occupied China and fought their way to Burma to contact Allied Command, where, instead of the Court-Martial he was expected, Doolittle received a double promotion to Brigadier General and a Medal of Honour."

Alexandre rolled his eyes, but Scott smirked, "Whereas you seem to fail to recognise the feat that Doolittle achieved, our American friends have not, nor have others and all pilots, bar ours apparently, are trained for the possibility of bailing out and fighting on foot."

Elizabeth nodded, "Even if they weren't, I would still recommend that all our members take up basic ground combat training," she remarked.

Scott nodded before turning from everyone to look outside, crossing his arms behind his back, "Many of the most famous pilots started out on the ground but turned to the skies for the freedom it offered, I've only flown once myself, and that was a WWI era fighter," he murmured before turning around and looking at Darjeeling, "This is going to be our final match before we hand over our positions, we both want to go out on a high note, but circumstances and experiences tell us that our wish shall not be granted."

Darjeeling and Elizabeth nodded while everyone else looked at each other, "I have learned better than to dismiss someone close to me saying that they have a 'bad feeling' about something," he continued, "Darjeeling, myself and Elizabeth have all had a bad feeling about this tournament, therefore I highly doubt it's indigestion."

Everyone was silent at that, then David spoke up, "What should we do?"

Scott sighed before sitting in his chair and placing his thumbs above his eyes, "I am giving everyone here the power to call a hearing to suspend someone's participation in the tournament should they become emotionally compromised," he said before looking up, "It must be a unanimous decision and there must be a reasonable causation for calling the hearing."

It sounded alright to everyone, then Scott delivered the shock, "In the case that I am unavailable for any number of reasons, Direct Command shall be granted to a triumvirate consisting of Miss Wellesley, Miss Pekoe and Miss York."

Charlotte blinked but David asked a question first, "Why Miss Pekoe?"

"Because she is my second in command," Darjeeling replied, "And if Scott is incapacitated, then it is highly likely that I will be unable to carry out my duties."

Alexandre looked more than a little bit miffed "Why is she on this triumvirate?" he asked accusingly pointing at Charlotte.

Scott leaned back in his chair, "Considering your performance today Mister Norton, I would hesitate to put you in charge of a litter of schoolchildren, let alone leaving you on a decision-making body unsupervised."

Alexandre looked ready to object before Scott cut across him, "I have half a mind to dismiss you, but seeing as though the rest of the pilots are of a similar mindset to you, it would be a waste of time, now if you'll excuse me, I see the Headmistress is ringing me," he said, picking up his desk phone and turning away.

Thankfully everyone gave him and Darjeeling some privacy, "Yes, we're alone now, I'll put you on speaker," he said.

"Thank you, Scott. Do either of you remember the little girl you found after your accident during the last term?" she asked.

Scott nodded, "Yes I do, how is she?"

Lady Grey sighed, "A complete mystery, she's given us nothing to go off of and not even her biometrics helped, it's like she doesn't exist."

Scott rubbed his chin and Darjeeling frowned, "Abandonment?" she threw out.

Lady Grey frowned, "We ran down that possibility, she would have had to been birthed out of a hospital, then abandoned soon afterwards to have so little information on her, but that wouldn't explain her age as a baby can't take care of itself, I mean, even a five-year-old has issues."

Scott frowned, "It is obvious that we are not dealing with an ordinary child, therefore we must consider the extraordinary possibilities in addition to the ordinary."

Lady Grey agreed before chuckling, "Though she has been asking for 'the nice man who found me' recently, and we think it would be a good idea for you all to take care of her until the tournament, it's clear she trusts you after all."

Scott looked at Darjeeling and saw her enthusiasm, and he knew what was going to be their answer immediately, "We'll do it, let me call Josh, we'll need them to child-proof the house before we arrive."

Lady Grey agreed and hung up. Darjeeling looked at Scott, "I'm surprised you didn't argue love," she said.

Scott shrugged, "Would be good practice before we have our own kids. Besides, I saw your face, and there was no way I was going to say no to that face."

Darjeeling smiled, "You've been trained well," she remarked.

Scott returned the smile and wrapped his arms around her, "Well, I had the best teacher."

* * *

Josh and Assam were walking out of the school when Scott's text came through, Josh was the one to read it, "That's odd," he muttered before looking at Assam, "Scott and Darjeeling want us to 'child-proof the house' before they return tonight."

Assam's brow furrowed, "Child-proof the house? What are they on about?"

Josh shrugged as they rounded a bend and met up with the rest of their friends, "I don't know, but I think we should, at least, humour them."

After explaining the text to them, everyone agreed to humour them until they got home, then they'd ask questions.

* * *

That evening, Darjeeling walked up the front steps to their house with Scott a few paces behind her. He had the little girl, whose name turned out to be Marie, in his arms, her eyes wide with wonder as Scott pointed out interesting things about her new home for the moment.

Soon, they opened the door to find Josh waiting for them, his questions dying on his lips as soon as he sees Marie, "Hello there little one, what's your name?" he asked.

Scott smiled as the girl hid in his arms as best she could, "This is Marie, she was the girl I found all those months ago," he said, before gently bringing her eyes to him, "Marie, sweetie, this is our friend, Josh, he won't hurt you."

Josh smiled, "Not least because he scares me sometimes," he joked.

Marie pouted, "Scott's not scary!" she exclaimed.

Josh chuckled, "Not normally, but when he gets hurt, he scares all of us," he replied before looked at Scott, "Everyone's waiting in the sitting room Milord, we've done as you've asked."

Scott nodded before walking with them to the sitting room and taking a seat in the rocker, "I'm sure you all have questions," he began as he looked at everyone. Rosehip and Foster were sitting on the same sofa, Rosehip leaning into her boyfriend, Stan and Pekoe were leaning against the wall and Josh sat in a chair while Assam sat on the ground in front of him, allowing him to do her hair. Scott began rocking and told them what the Lady Grey had told him earlier, leading up to them walking in the door, "… and here we are. Thank you for child-proofing the house before we got home."

Josh smiled, but it was Foster that answered, "It's fine Milord, though, a little explanation would have been nice."

At that, Scott and Darjeeling suddenly turned bright red and looked away from each other. Thankfully for them, the others were aware that they would need to watch what they said around young ears.

As it was, Marie spoke up, "Why are they calling you Milord?" she asked.

Scott chuckled, "Ah well, that's because I was a Duke not too long ago until I gave it to my sister."

Marie looked at him "Duke? Sister? Who?"

Scott chuckled and so did everyone else as, as if on cue, Terre walked in, "Sorry I'm late, I got bogged down again," she said before laying eyes on Marie, "Ah, you must be Marie, I'm Terre, Scott's sister."

Soon, everyone was entertaining Marie, but in the backs of their minds, they were counting down the days until February 1st. All thirty of them...


	6. Training

Scott and Darjeeling knew that more training days with infantry weapons would be needed, but they also knew that it would have to alternate with their other training methods if only so the Wellesley boys didn't revolt. If Scott was dreading training for the tournament, he didn't show it, at least, not around Marie and since she was near him at all hours, he rarely complained.

One day Scott was sitting in his office, papers in his hands and readers on his face. Judging by his expression, he had been at it for a few hours, that these were logistics papers just added to his exhaustion. He was fighting a losing battle with sleep and he knew it, he just didn't know when it would claim him.

* * *

Out on the training field, Darjeeling was running the tank crews through basic operation of each tank, not wanting to be left with a tank but the crew remaining not having the knowledge to use it. She was even running members of the infantry along with her crews, just to be safe.

Everyone was getting tired, some from running themselves ragged, but most of the girls were getting tired of the Wellesley boys' pompous act. Seeing Marie on Darjeeling's shoulders helped a bit, but everyone was running out of steam.

David was leaning against the chassis of the Centurion, half asleep, waiting for Darjeeling to give out orders, the 'lioness of St Gloriana' was working them to the bone, but no one would have it any other way, they all knew that the companionship they built here could save them on the battlefield.

"Taking a quick nap?" a familiar voice called

David chuckled, "Of course Joshua, I'm sure the commanders would like me upright and to remain awake, but if we push any harder, we might not make it to the tournament!"

Josh chuckled; he knew everyone was getting tired, but he had faith they would make it.

"Slacking on the job Hood? Tut, tut, what would the commanders say?"

Or not. Josh and David looked at the voice, not surprised to see Alexandre standing there with a smug look on his face. Josh though felt obligated to say something, "I'm certain that the commanders would be glad that he isn't working himself into the ground, they pride themselves on looking after our health rather than obtaining victory no matter the cost."

"You are correct Josh," Darjeeling said, starling Alexandre, "Seeing as though we are finished for the day, you may all head home."

It was telling that no one cheered, they were that tired. A few people even had to be roused to go home. David looked at Charlotte, she was barely able to walk straight. Walking over to her, he offered her his arm and once she took it and laid her head on his shoulder, she fell asleep.

Seeing that walking wouldn't work, David cradled her in his arms and walked off with her. Unfortunately, Alexandre saw this, "Well, well, what do we have here?"

David froze and Charlotte woke up, fear in their eyes. But before they could say anything, a new voice spoke up, "I see a lovely young couple, heading home after a hard day's work, am I blind?" Scott remarked.

Alexandre spluttered, "But... but, she's a commoner, not worth the effort nor fit to breathe the same air as us!" he shouted.

CRACK. A very long crack was heard, followed by Alexandre screaming bloody murder. What came as a shock though was what was said next, "You are nothing more than a selfish arse!" Marie shouted.

Seeing as Marie had left Scott's side and was standing next to Alexandre, and he was clutching his ankle, it didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. Scott though, spoke up, "Young Lady! We do not use that sort of language!" he called before looking down slightly, "Even if we agree with it," he thought.

Marie flushed before running to his side, leading him to scoop her up into his arms and showed that he still cared for her. This left Darjeeling to level a glare towards Alexandre, "If we hear that you are making Miss York's life difficult because of this, we will pull you from the tournament, no questions about it."

Most of the people around left him to get help from his pilots. Scott's party set out for their home, knowing this was but one more thing that would need to be taken care of. Marie looked at Scott, "Am I in trouble?" she quietly asked.

Scott looked at Darjeeling, getting a nod back, "No sweetheart, in fact, I'd say you've earnt an Ice Cream dessert tonight."

Marie cheered, bringing smiles to everyone's faces, though it would be almost four the next morning before they finally wore her down enough to where she would finally fall asleep.


	7. Feast fit for Lords

The rest of the month leading up to the tournament was fairly typical for the lead up to any Sensha-dō season, long training sessions, large amounts of homework from school along with the occasional hysteria from the increase in pressure. Soon though, everyone began packing the necessary supplies. These included several changes of clothes as well as several tanks and planes worth of spare parts. Even though they would be supplied by the Federation, none of the Commanders were willing to chance running out.

Marie had quickly become beloved by most of the team, leading to many tears went they were set to leave. It was, however, Scott and Darjeeling who shed the most tears as they passed Marie to Lady Grey, promising to be careful. When Scott and Darjeeling stepped on the plane bound for the ship, everyone could see how much it tore them to separate from Marie, but there was nothing to be done.

Soon they reached their destination and disembarked. Most people went to the communal area where they would spend one last night before being cast into the fire. However, Scott, Darjeeling, Alex, and Elizabeth heading for a Commander's banquet the Federation was holding, in the spirit of good sportsmanship of course.

They each wore what they had worn for the ball except for Scott. Scott had decided, at the encouragement of Darjeeling, to wear his normal uniform for Sensha-dō, with the only difference being that he wore his George Cross this time.

Upon their arrival, Alex immediately split off from the group, causing Darjeeling to sigh. Scott looked at his fiancée, "I know love, but we cannot dictate what anyone does during an event, only prevent catastrophes," he said, rubbing her back.

Just then, Miho and Günther approached, "Scott! Darjeeling! I'm glad we caught you so soon," Miho remarked.

Scott raised an eyebrow, "Oh?" he asked.

Günther nodded gravely, "Yes," he said before pointing towards the banquet hall doors, "Take a look."

Scott and Darjeeling looked through the slightly ajar hall doors and were shocked, through the doors, in a vigorous conversation with Shiho and Captain Ami Chono, advisor for Ōarai, was Gerthela and Erwin Rommel Jr, Günther's parents, as well as the Headmaster for East High. Scott looked back at Günther, "What on Earth are your parents thinking they'll accomplish? And why is the Head of East with them?" he asked.

Günther shrugged, the fight gone from his eyes, but Miho spoke up, "We're not sure, but Mother wanted to speak with you anyways, perhaps you could rescue her and Captain Chono."

Scott looked at Darjeeling before nodding and walking into the hall. The Head of East was the first to notice them, "This is a private conversation, leave us!"

Scott raised an eyebrow, "My presence, and therefore the presence of my fiancée, was requested by the Lady Nishizumi," he replied as diplomatically as possible.

The Head of East scoffed, "And why would Lady Nishizumi want your presence, boy?"

Scott inclined his head slightly, "Lord Scott Perkins GC, Former Duke of Norfolk and Supreme Commander of the St Gloriana Combined Force. Moreover, her daughter is a close friend of mine," he stated.

Shiho looked grateful for the help, "Thank you for coming, Lord Perkins,"

Scott smirked, "Please Milady, I've told you to call me Scott before, but that is beside the point, what seems to be the issue here?"

Gerthelda cut across Shiho, "Under no circumstances is Günther to partake in this madhouse!"

Scott raised an eyebrow, "As far as the Law is concerned, you gave up your power over Günther when you signed the papers disowning him," he remarked before thinking, "December 7 if I remember correctly."

This had both Rommels gapping like fish, but Scott wasn't finished yet, "Now, seeing as though you gave those powers up, in accordance with Japanese and International Law, the next persons who have any power over Günther, would be his fiancée and her family," he said whilst gesturing to Shiho, "Considering that his fiancée is still in school, it is, therefore, Lady Nishizumi who has final say in pulling Günther from the tournament."

Leaving the Rommels and the head of East speechless, and sent away, Scott turned to Shiho, "Miho mentioned that you wished to speak with us."

Shiho frowned for a moment, "Not that I know of, it could be that she just wanted you to rescue us from that conversation."

Scott nodded before noticing that others started entering the hall. Bidding them farewell, Scott and Darjeeling sat at their seats. Darjeeling was to Scott's right and Miho was to his left. What came as a surprise though was when Nonna and the group from Pravda sat across from them. Scott decided to open the conversation, "Hello there Nonna, it's been a while."

Nonna looked at him, "Indeed Scott, I was hoping to face off against you, but it was not to be," she replied, smiling slightly.

Katyusha looked between them, "You know each other?" she asked.

Nonna nodded, "Yes, our fathers were old school friends, back when Scott was the Earl of Arundel."

Scott leaned back in his chair, "That seems like a lifetime ago. You know, some days I wish I could go back to then," he says, then he looks to Darjeeling, "Then I open my eyes and see the beautiful woman lying next to me and I realise how lucky I am to live this life."

Darjeeling flushed bright red, quietly laying to rest any concerns she had about Scott and Nonna.

* * *

While the commanders talked over dinner, Shiho, Captain Chono and Lady Grey quietly discussed the upcoming events with concern. The Sensha-dō Federation hadn't anticipated the request from the European schools to revive this style of tournament, nor had they expected the Americans to get involved as well. There was little they could do however, as others had seen it as a way to export Sensha-dō to the wider world. There was one thing they were more concerned about though. While overseeing the completion of the battlegrounds, Shiho had seen an aircraft heading for centre town, and she hadn't ordered for anything to go there and no one knew anything they were willing to tell. When she had described an emblem on the side of the craft, Lady Grey grew pale, "Grey? What is it?" Shiho asked.

Lady Grey took a deep breath, "The emblem you described sounds like the coat of arms for the Duke of Lancaster, a distant relative of Scott's," she whispered.

Ami blanched, "Could this be another plot against Lord Perkins?" she asked.

"It could very well be Ami," Shiho responded before looking at where Scott, Darjeeling and the others were laughing at something, "The better question is: do we say anything?"

Lady Grey looked where Shiho was, "I say no, we could very well be overreacting after what happened in the Palace of Westminster."

Ami and Shiho agreed, and they dropped the matter.

* * *

"Did you succeed in your goal?" a garbled voice said over a phone.

A shadowy figure shook their head, "Negative, the Director of the Federation is too well-entrenched with the bastard lord to be of any use, I fear we have to default to plan B."

The voice growled, "Very well. Do not fail me again, kill the bastard and his lady, that will benefit us both."

The shadowy figure nodded, "As you wish My Lord."

Shutting the phone down and destroying it after taking out the sim card, the shadowy figure disappeared into the shadows of the night, but not until they looked at Scott and Darjeeling, entering their car to return to the common area and shaking his fist, revenge clear on his face...


	8. Let the War Begin!

Morning came, and at 0500, everyone was roused to make their way to their landing crafts. The pilots would be staying on the carrier until they received orders to fly out five hours after the first boots hit the shore. Scott checked over his pack one last time before lugging it onto his back and walking to the Centurion.

Once they were loaded onto the landing craft, and everyone was accounted for, they launched. It would take them ten minutes to make landfall.

Scott heard a moan come from his side and looked to see Orange Pekoe looking quite green, "Hurl over the side of the ship my dear, you'll feel a bit better," he said.

He didn't need to say it twice as Pekoe rushed to the side and regurgitated her breakfast, 'yet another person who wouldn't be having scrambled eggs anytime soon,' Scott thought to himself. A moment later, Darjeeling popped her head out of her Churchill, "I haven't heard any issues from the transports on my end. You?"

Scott shook his head, "No, we seem to have gotten a smooth start, now, let's see if we can keep it going," he muttered before picking up his spyglass and radio. Looking through the glass, Scott could vaguely make out the shape of their landing zone, "Heads up, five minutes to the LZ, we'll take a breath and ten minutes before we hike it to the site we picked for our base. Provided we make normal time, we should be there in less than an hour and a half, then the airstrip will need to be constructed before we can fortify and pitch tents. Ground Crews, you'll have the field and authority to give orders, we'll listen to you. Perkins out!"

Darjeeling pursed her lips, five miles wasn't a lot to ask for, but all the same, she was glad the pilots didn't need to be there yet. Scott looked over to her, knowing full well what she was thinking.

Five minutes passed by and the landing ramps dropped. Scott raised his hand, "St Gloriana! Move out!" he shouted.

Trucks and tanks disembarked and then kept on going, the drivers choosing to press for the base zone quickly. All the infantry that couldn't fit on the trucks ran up and hopped on the back of a tank, allowing them to keep rolling. Scott was quietly pleased that the drivers continued rather than wait and looked around him, smiling at everyone, then looking ahead, "Josh? Get me the Seventh Panzers," he said coyly.

Josh smirked, knowing what he meant, "Ay Lord!"

Soon, all the radios were broadcasting, and Scott led them, "Fast as the wind, the invasion has begun/Shaking the ground with the force of thousand guns/First in the line of fire, first into hostile land/Tanks leading the way, leading the way/Charging the lines with the force of a furious storm/Fast as the lighting phantoms swarm/200 miles at nightfall, taken within a day/Thus earning the name, earning the fame/They are the panzer elite, born to compete, never retreat ghost division/Living or dead, always ahead, fed by your dread/Always ahead, as the blitzkrieg rages on/Breaking morale with the sound of blazing guns/First in the line of fire, first into hostile land/Tanks leading the way, leading the way/Leaving a trail of destruction through a foreign land/Waging war with conviction/Massive assault live to serve the Nazi plan/Wehrmacht's pride, ghost division/Communications broken, phantoms too far away/Thus earning the name, earning the fame/They are the panzer elite, born to compete, never retreat ghost division/Living or dead, always ahead, fed by your dread/Pushing the frontline forth with a tremendous force/Far ahead, breaks resistance/Breaching the way for panzer corps/Shows no fear, self-subsistent/First in the line of fire, first into hostile land/Tanks leading the way, claiming the fame/They are the panzer elite, born to compete, never retreat ghost division/Living or dead, always ahead, fed by your dread/Panzer elite, born to compete, never retreat/ghost division/Living our dead, always ahead, fed by your dread"

Darjeeling just smiled at Scott's antics, knowing it was doing him some good. Besides, they were moving just as fast, why not let them sing about the Ghost Division, it was a good song after all.

In twenty minutes, they reached their destination. Scott jumped out and looked around, happy with the terrain on display. They were on the top of a slight hill and there wasn't a tree nearby, perfect for the pilots to take-off and land. Charlotte and the grounds crews didn't even wait for the trucks to stop moving before jumping out with spades and other tools and setting to work on the runway. Several of the infantry set up in key locations to be able to conduct overwatch, no one quite trusting the other teams to hold back.

Seeing that the ground crews had things well in hand, Scott called David over to him, "David, I'd like you to command the defence force for the base, set up a guard schedule and don't limit yourself to Highland students, draw from Wellesley and St Gloriana as well. Oh, and we'll need a group to go for supplies as well," he said.

David nodded, "Already on its sir, seeing as though Charlotte and the others don't need our help, I've taken the liberty of having people start setting up tents and utilities."

Scott nodded, "Good, and how long will that take?"

David smiled, "Well, since we don't have to deal with my uncles, probably an hour, tops."

Scott smiled, "Good, once there are a few people free, I'd like to have my command tent set up, though I suppose I better help Darjeeling set up our tent first," he remarked before walking over to her.

David chuckled before looking around himself, knowing that there was a lot of work to do, he set to it.

* * *

Miho gripped the side of her Panzer IV like her life depended on it, she had always been slightly susceptible to seasickness when she went on smaller boats and being a little over three months pregnant didn't help. Günther couldn't even help her as he was in another boat and, from the sounds over the radio, barely keeping his breakfast down as well. Thankfully for them, they made landfall, but they couldn't catch their breath as a member of their infantry, a group from ANZAC High, called out on the radio, "Kuromorimine Tanks spotted, twenty klicks out, we need to move, now!"

Miho quickly re-centred herself, she knew that the ANZACs were on her far-right flank, compass North, "All Allied forces, proceed along the coast to the south, there should be a river about thirty kilometres down, we'll head along that for about five klicks before setting camp, that should keep us safe," she ordered.

A string of affirmative responses came through and tanks and trucks roared to life. Though Miho was certain that her sister wouldn't do such a brutal thing as attacking them in that state, she also knew that it was better to err on the side of caution.

While they drove, Miho went over her forces one more time in her mind. ANZAC High served as their infantry force, this group of Australians and New Zealanders totalled around two hundred boys and girls, and they used WWII American equipment for the most part. They also had a small tank force consisting of two Matilda IIs and a Churchill III which folded into the command structure of the Sensha-dō team quite nicely. Their Air Force, on the other hand, was from many different schools across four different nations. One squadron of Close Air Ground Support came from Poland's Wroclaw High School, dubbing themselves "The Winged Hussars of the Red Baron". Another CAS group came from Russia's St Petersburg Academy, merely calling themselves "CAS 2". Then there were two fighter wings from Great Britain, the 310th and 401st training squadrons. They all had WWII era planes, but the final group, one from the Greater South Salem School District of Oregon, had only WWI era planes, but their record could not be ignored. In the state levels, they would smash the other schools, who all used WWII era planes, and at the US Nationals, they managed to rank second, with their Flight Leader, one Harold Anderson, downing half of the champion's squadron by himself before being shot down. They had brought three squadrons calling themselves Red, Blue and Green in accordance with the colours of their planes.

Yukari popped her head out of her hatch, as did Hana and Saori, and looked back at Miho. Ever since Miho had told them about her pregnancy, her crew had been watching her carefully, making sure they didn't overdo it, but also ready in case Miho had an emergency and Günther couldn't make it to her quickly, something that he was grateful for as he knew that he could be slightly overbearing and overprotective when it came to Miho's health.

Seeing her crew looking at her, Miho gave a soft smile. She knew what they were doing, and was grateful, "I'm fine, just need to catch my breath," she said.

Her crew gave her a gentle smile, then Hana looked south, "Do you think we'll encounter this 'East High' Miho?"

Miho looked down, "I don't know Hana, they are in the same situation as us, but I am worried about what Scott told me over the Christmas break."

Seeing the concern on her friends' faces', Miho sighed. Against her better judgement, she and Günther had told the tank commanders what Scott had mentioned about East High's commander. They had also told her crew due to their fear something could happen.

The rest of the drive happened in paranoid silence, each person looking in all directions to make sure they wouldn't be attacked. Thankfully for them, they managed to make it to their selected spot without further incident.

After helping Miho down from the Panzer IV, her friends began helping set up their base. Some of the Oregonians began work on the services that everyone would need, much to Miho's relief as they had discovered that many of the Oregonians were more used to "roughing it" as they had called it than any of the others. It also helped that many of them, including their Squadron Leader, were quite adept in the kitchen and had volunteered to work in the kitchen. Anderson would be slightly dismayed that his ground crews weren't setting up their tents, but Miho was certain that he wouldn't make a fuss of it, he had mentioned it as a possibility to her.

After a few hours, everyone looked up to see their air cover from Poland, Russia, Britain and America inbound. Cheers went up amongst the teens, Miho and Günther released a sigh of relief, they knew that in this style of tournament, their planes would be their eyes.

Once Harold landed his Fokker , he walked over to Miho, Günther, and a girl from ANZAC High named Sheila Henderson, between the four of them, they formed the command structure for the coalition that backed Ōarai. Harold, his gaze lingering slightly on Sheila, chose to speak, "Commander, I'm glad everyone seemed to have made it in one piece, I've heard murmurings of a close encounter of the Kuro kind."

Everyone around him let out a slight chuckle at the pun he made. Then Harold glanced at the area that had been designated as their cooking area, "I see my crew got the kitchen set up, will I need to move the cookers, or have they waited for me?"

Miho smiled, "They left that for you Harold, apparently your classmates have scared people off with stories of you camping and having to rearrange a cooking area."

Harold flushed slightly, mumbling under his breath about loudmouth classmates. While everyone had a good laugh at his words, Miho wondered how her friends in St Gloriana were faring.

* * *

Scott was happy with their progress, in less than an hour, they had an airstrip, tents were mostly up, and guard positions were posted. When Alexandre arrived with their air group, everything was set up and the command staff had retired to the command tent to begin strategizing. Scott was discussing supply routes to the drop zones with David when they heard shouting coming from the airstrip, startled and concerned, they rushed out to see Alexandre shouting at Charlotte over something.

"NORTON!" Scott shouted, drawing people's attention, knowing that Scott never shouted unless it was a last resort, "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" he continued, not lowering his voice one iota.

Alexandre turned to face not the Scott Perkins he and his friends had been training with, nor had he faced Commander Perkins, no, when he turned around Alexandre found himself face-to-face with Lord Scott Perkins GC, former Duke of Norfolk and enemy to bullies. With Alexandre staying silent on the matter, Scott turned to the crying Charlotte, "Charlotte? What happened?" he asked softly.

Charlotte almost didn't answer, the emotional part of her brain believed that nothing would come of whatever she said while the rational part saying that this was Lord Perkins, the same man who introduced legislation to curb schoolyard bullying, and who stood up for her and David less than a month ago. Making her mind up, she spoke, "He said something about some imperfection in the airstrip," she whispered.

Scott rounded on Alexandre, "A 'còcaireachd idiot! Gu dearbh, is dòcha gu bheil e beagan cnapach! Tha e salachar!"

Alexandre might not have understood the words, but he understood the message, especially since Scott looked about ready to burst a blood vessel. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valour, Alexandre chose to turn tail and walk off.

Sighing, Scott turned back to Charlotte to see David trying his best to calm her down. Chuckling to himself, Scott waved William over, "Since David and Charlotte will be occupied for a while, I'd like for you and Rukuriri to assemble a scouting team and head north for a half-hour, maybe you'll find something."

William nodded, smiling to himself at what Scott was doing, and he did want to spend more time with the brown-haired tank commander, "As you command Milord."

Watching as William walked off and picked up Rukuriri, Scott smiled, so far, no crisis had formed, yet, and they were settling in for the five months they would fight on this island. Yet some part of his mind reminded him that both Darjeeling and Elizabeth were worried about the tournament, and he shouldn't let his guard down.


	9. First of March

The following few days passed by rather uneventfully for both St Gloriana and Ōarai. Once they settled into a routine, each commander knew that they would have to begin searching for the others, knowing that they would be doing the same.

Scott walked into the command tent early that morning, almost a month after they first landed on this island. His thoughts turning to something Assam had said in jest the day they landed that was giving him a difficult time to sleep.

* * *

_After Scott issued the order for William and Rukuriri to go and explore, the group he was starting to dub "The Inner Circle" approached him. That this group consisted solely of his tank crew, Darjeeling's tank crew and Elizabeth Wellesley barely raised any eyebrows. Darjeeling opened, "Well, that was... interesting."_

_Scott sighed, "And it went about as well as I expected, unfortunately," he remarked before turning to Assam, "How long before we can get 'MI' set up?" he asked._

_Assam thought for a moment while Elizabeth looked quite confused. Eventually, Assam answered, "Give me two hours undisturbed tops, and I should be set."_

_Scott nodded, then he looked at Elizabeth, "Assam is our intelligence specialist during the Sensha-dō season so, since we are styled after Her Majesties' Armed Forces, we've styled our spy network after Military Intelligence, though we have no one by the name of James Bond in our service," he remarked, drawing a chuckle from everyone and a "good" from Josh._

_Scott smiled at him before continuing, "A report classified as MI1 is general information that doesn't fit anywhere else, MI2 is for Combat After Action Reports from other schools, MI3 is strengths of their materials, most notably the actual equipment in use, MI4 regards any Alliances formed while MI5 regards where we believe their units to be positioned."_

_Elizabeth chuckled, "What, no MI6?" she jokingly asked._

_Most everyone laughed, but when they saw Scott, Darjeeling and Assam weren't, they looked at them expectantly. Needless to say, they didn't disappoint, "MI6 is code for 'we need to move, now' as we've been discovered, and a large force is bearing down on us."_

_Assam nodded before departing with a final comment, "I wouldn't expect anything for a few days, but be prepared for a lot of information coming through."_

* * *

Assam ended up being right as there was a mountain of information to go through each day. Often this task would bleed into the night and Scott would usually just crawl into his and Darjeeling's cot quietly and sleep for a few hours before repeating his day.

On this day though, Assam was there to greet him, "Good morning Milord, some good news with some bad as well," she said.

Scott raised an eyebrow, "Considering you're trying to talk to me before my morning tea, this had better be good..." he muttered.

Assam ploughed ahead, "According to what we've been able to intercept and confirm through the officials, yesterday Saunders got completely wiped out through apparently unintentional teamwork from Pravda and Kuro."

Scott was glad he didn't have his morning cup of tea in his hand as it would have been all over him and her, "Pardon? You mean the former colonies got Polanded?"

Assam looked at him, "Pardon?"

Scott shook his head, "Polanded, you know, Poland got sandwiched between the USSR and the German Reich in the start of WWII?"

Assam giggled, "You made that word up Scott!"

Scott just shrugged, "What's the bad news?" he asked.

Assam sighed, "Neither Pravda nor Kuro realised the other was there, they're now heading south, in our general direction."

Scott shrugged, "We always knew that we'd have to face them, hopefully, we'll be able to pull out ahead," he replied before looking at the table, "Anything about Jakasota or Anzio?"

Assam shook her head, "No, it's just like they dropped off the map, I doubt we'll find them, rather, they'll find us."

Scott frowned, trying to remember a lesson from his younger years, "We'll have to expect that they're working together and that Mika is in charge of strategy," he remarked before looking back at Assam, "We'll also have to expect that they'll try to use misdirection and Motti tactics against us."

Assam nodded and Darjeeling walked in, kissing Scott on the cheek, "Good morning you two, you're up early Assam, anything good?"

Scott smirked, "Apparently Saunders made like Poland in '39 and was sandwiched between Kuro and Pravda, I wonder what Kay will do with the rest of the tournament left?" he wondered aloud.

The girls only chuckled, they knew that Kay would probably use the time to relax and throw a party or three.

Scott sighed; the past month weighted heavily on him since he felt personally responsible for everyone under his command. Assam and Darjeeling saw him slouch and looked at each other, but before they could say anything, one of the Pilots rushed in with a paper in his hands.

Scott read the missive he received before straightening his back. Turning to look at the girls, he spoke, "It looks like we have an opportunity, a group of Anzio and Jakasota infantry were spotted in the woods to our west, at best, we can weaken them and draw out their main force, at worst, we defeat a group of them, weakening them by some margin."

Assam and Darjeeling looked at each other, considering that everyone was getting antsy, there was no doubt as to what Scott answer was, "Deploy divisions one and two, send up two units of fighter cover and a unit of CAS!"

It didn't take long before the camp was roused from sleep. The first division consisted of five Cromwell tanks and twenty-five infantry while the second division consisted of the four Matilda IIs, the Churchill and another twenty-five infantry. Soon, they were enroute and Scott felt confident about their chances. Turning to Charlotte, who had taken over as the command tent's radio operator, he asked, "Status?"

Charlotte looked up, "All units on the ground are reporting green across the board, so far, no sightings."

Scott frowned, knowing that there was something off about this, "Keep vigilant, Jakasota really has perfected the Motti tactics used in the Winter War," he replied, drawing a nod from Charlotte. Suddenly, he looked up to the ceiling, "Charlotte, I presume there's a very good reason why I haven't heard the starting of aeroplane engines?"

Charlotte pursed her lips before switching channels, "Wing Commander Norton, Command wants to know why our birds aren't airborne yet!" she called.

Scott couldn't hear what was said, but it was clear that Charlotte wasn't amused. Looking at her expectantly, she covered her mic, she responded, "Apparently they didn't hear that they were needed, and they think it's below them."

Scott rolled his eyes before putting on his own headset, not realising it was on the St Gloriana General Channel, "NORTON! If you're not in the air in the next ten minutes, then, so help me God, I will pound your sorry arse into the ground to be a permanent feature! Am I clear?" he shouted.

Everyone attached to a radio jumped when Scott began his tirade, most had never heard him raise his voice. That Scott chose to air his grievances over the General Channel meant that the entire camp knew that he was pissed and would be giving him as wide a berth as was possible for a few hours at least.

Scott wasn't expecting an answer, which was good, because he didn't get one. Instead, he switched to the Command radio channel, allowing him to talk with the tank commanders and squad leaders, "Attention all leaders, it appears we're not getting any air cover for this op, proceed with care. Confirm."

Hearing an acknowledgement, Scott mentally tuned everything else out.

* * *

Darjeeling looked at Assam, rubbing her ears. She, like everyone else, hadn't been expecting Scott to yell and was sorely regretting the placement of her speaker. Just then, Rukuriri spoke on their inter-division channel, "Anyone know what to do when Scott's angry?"

Assam looked back at Darjeeling, shrugging. Pekoe did much the same so Darjeeling spoke up, "Unfortunately, we've never had to deal with this sort of thing before. Scott's not one who angers really."

Puer, one of the Matilda commanders, spoke up, "Considering how in love you two are, that doesn't surprise me, but maybe one of our gentlemen companions knows. After all, they've known him for longer."

Darjeeling nodded before popping her hatch, looking to the treeline that was approaching, she noticed some movement to their left flank, "Eyes up, 260, movement in the trees."

Scott had taken off his headset and was massaging his temple, a migraine already forming. Suddenly, he heard Darjeeling, "Eyes up, 260, movement in the trees."

With that, he sprang into action, "Confirm 2-1 Actual, movement in treeline?" he asked.

"Confirmed, 2-2 sights movement as well as 2-1 Actual," Yabukita, another Matilda commander replied.

Scott grinned, "Engage at will, Commander's discretion."

* * *

Darjeeling popped back into the Churchill once Scott gave the Engage order. Moving decisively, she deployed her infantry behind the Matildas and the Churchill, as they were designed for, and ordered the Cromwells to begin flanking manoeuvres. She knew it was risky to do so without air cover, but they didn't have a choice.

Soon, small arms fire began peppering the hulls of the tanks as they moved into firing range. Then, after some time, William spoke into his radio, "We're good, returning fire."

Then, the infantry opened fire, and hell broke loose. At first, Darjeeling though she could see a few tanks. Then she realised that there was a lot more infantry then she first though, then the tanks appeared, and she could make out specks against the blue sky, "All forces! Fighting Withdrawal!" she hollered before switching to Command radio, "Scott, I think we've got the entirety of Jakasota and Anzio's forces against us!"

"Belay that order, we're mobilizing our reserves. Withdraw, it should be ten minutes before you come into contact with your reinforcements."

"Copy," she muttered. Then she looked to Pekoe, "Keep loading Pekoe, we're getting out of here."

Pekoe nodded before shoving another shell into the breach.

Luckily for them, Jakasota, which comprised most of the heavy-duty firepower for them, was wildly inaccurate, while Anzio was accurate, but lacked the firepower to penetrate the hull, though that was scant consolation for the infantry as many of them went down to Anzio guns.

Just when it looked like they would lose their infantry, a twenty-pounder shell came flying overhead and slammed into the BT-7, knocking it, and its crew, out of the match.

"Sorry we're late, we loaded as fast as we could and red-lined the engine all the way here," Josh said, making their presence known, "Now, let's put them out of their misery."

The battle didn't take long after that, the Jakasota/Anzio team tried to fall back, but were cut off by the Cromwells Darjeeling had sent around the left flank for that purpose.

Scott slumped into a chair Charlotte had provided for him, relief flooding his body as the primary emotion. However, there was an underlying current of anger as well. None of the pilots had launched into action. It didn't take long before he came to a decision, "All forces, gather the wounded and Return to Base, I want a report of casualties when you return," he quietly whispered.

Charlotte walked over to him, "You did the best you could Milord, no one can deny it."

Scott sighed before putting his readers on, "Alexandre will," he replied.

* * *

It ended up being an hour later before the troops returned and the Commanders walked into the tent. Unsurprisingly, Alexandre was already there. Also, unsurprisingly, Scott was pissed. Gesturing to the seats around the table, Scott had everyone pass him a slip of paper with the causalities on them. He lowered his head as he did the maths, "Forty infantry, and two crews with tanks," he murmured before looking up, "We've lost a tenth of our ground power, we may be able to replace the infantry with the ground crews, but we're down two Cromwells,"

Alexandre smirked, but before he could say anything, Scott rose, "Alexandre Norton, if you had gotten off your high horse, we would have had fewer casualties! As far as I'm concerned, you might as well be a double agent for another team!" he shouted.

Jaws dropped, but Scott continued, "I'm calling a Vote of No Confidence in Alexandre Norton and moving that he be Court-Martialled under the charges of insubordination and the abandonment of allies."

Darjeeling rose, but Elizabeth beat her to the punch, "Seconded!"

Alexandre grew red-faced, his anger apparent in his words, "You can't do this! I am the Commander of the Aerial Forces!"

Scott glared at him, "Mister Norton," he began, deathly quiet, "I am well aware of your military aspirations. You would, during training, be given a choice: change your ways, or pack your bags. I have already given you a chance to change, several chances in fact. Seeing as though I cannot kick you off this island, I will just have to come up with alternative punishments for you, though one idea has come to mind."

Scott rubbed his chin, thinking to himself. Finally, he spoke, "Yes, that will do nicely," he muttered before looking up, "Mister Norton, I am swapping your position with Miss York, from now until I decide otherwise, you will be a part of the Ground Crews whilst Miss York will command the Air Force."

"You... you can't," Alexandre spluttered.

Scott raised an eyebrow, "I am willing to swap the positions of the entire Air Force and Ground Crews if that meant that our ground forces would have cover. Hell, I'm willing to do a crash course in piloting if I thought that would help since one elective two years ago in a WWI Biplane doesn't really count."

When Scott sat back down, he rubbed his brow. Taking their dismissal, most left, leaving only Darjeeling, Pekoe, Charlotte and David with him. Scott sighed, but before he could say anything, his face screwed up in pain before he clutched his chest, "Scott?" Darjeeling asked.

Scott didn't say anything for a moment, but eventually, his body relaxed, "That sucked," he muttered.

Charlotte looked at him, "Milord? What was that?"

Scott winced, "I'm not sure, my chest felt tight though and it was difficult to breathe."

Charlotte didn't change her expression, but her voice bled a great deal of fear into her words, "Milord, you need to start delegating to your subordinates."

Scott looked her in the eyes, "Charlotte? Do you know what's wrong?"

She gave off an impression of a stone statue, but only for a moment, then the tears started, "My father experienced what you just went through, his doctors told him to avoid stress and he didn't! He was dead in a week!" she cried.

Darjeeling, Scott and Pekoe's eyes widened while David threw his arms around her. Just then, a radio operator burst in, "Milord! Caravan three just reported in! Joshua and Assam are missing!"


	10. Love and Hell

Josh's head was pounding, the last thing he remembered was telling Assam that he expected to be able to RTB in a few minutes, then his entire world went black.

Opening his eyes, he noticed that he was in some sort of prefabricated structure, probably another team's base. He also noticed that he was chained to the wall, though he could walk around part of his cell. Hearing his movement, his guard spoke, "Good, you're awake, the boss'll be happy."

Josh could discern a few things from that: first, the guard sounded American and second, his boss would be happy, but he was sure that he wouldn't be.

Soon, his cell door opened and Josh good a good look at his captors. As it was, only the "boss" entered his cell. He stood about six-foot-five, with light blond hair and dark green eyes. What stood out to Josh though was his uniform, "I'm assuming you're Vladimir Lavrinenko?" he asked.

Lavrinenko smirked, "What gave it away?" he asked, his Russian accent thick.

Josh shrugged, "Lord Perkins keeps tabs on many things, your school being one of them."

Lavrinenko snarled, "Perkins doesn't know what's good for him, else he never would have debased himself with that Japanese шлюха!"

Josh raised an eyebrow; he didn't know any Russian, but he assumed with the snarl and emotion on display, he could only assume it was an insult aimed at Darjeeling. Choosing not to say anything, Josh didn't have to wait long before his host enlightened him as to why he was there, "I am under strict orders, to carry them out, I needed certain leverage," he said before growing a smile that could only be described as sadistic at best, "I'm sure that you'll provide us with the information we need, then we'll send you back to your precious lord," he spat.

Josh heard the cell door open and saw another man enter with a device in his hands. Without warning, Josh was held against the wall and placed in cuffs that were built into the wall. Struggling proved useless and Lavrinenko smirked before having the device placed on Josh's head, "This device emits electrical current, and is triggered by this button," he said, holding a trigger up, "Now, there's a gap in the current, meaning, when I push this button..."

Josh didn't need it explained, not least of which because he could feel the current coursing through his body. He couldn't keep back the scream of pain.

Thankfully for him, it only lasted a few seconds, but Lavrinenko spoke again, "Now, as you've been given proper reason to not feel that pain again, you will answer my questions."

Josh tried to take a breath, but his breathing was ragged due to his muscles still spasming from the electricity, "Go to Hell!" he defiantly retorted

Lavrinenko smirked, "Well, let's see how long you sing that tune, shall we?"

Electricity arced through Josh's body, the nerve endings spasming. His screams could be heard in another cell, where a doctor of sorts looked over the female occupant, "If he would just cooperate..." he muttered before turning back to his work.

* * *

Scott was furious, "How the Hell do we lose two of our people on a simple supply run?"

The radio operator shivered, unlike most, he had been with Scott at Yorkshire and this was the first time he had ever seen him this angry, "I'm not sure sir, apparently they just disappeared."

Scott rubbed his brow, "Well get Caravan three back here ASAP, I want to know every piece of information, no matter how insignificant it is!"

The operator nodded and ran off, first stop, his tent for a change of pants.

Scott sighed, slumping into his seat, "Today has been just lovely," he muttered before shutting his eyes, "I've lost one-tenth of my ground combat forces, the Air Force is practically rebelling against my orders, two of my closest friends are MIA and it isn't even lunchtime yet. Can I get a redo?" he jokingly asked.

Darjeeling stepped behind him and started rubbing his shoulders, the unspoken message in her eyes was quickly received by Pekoe, David and Charlotte and they left the command tent.

By the time Scott noticed they were alone, he was quite close to sleep. Darjeeling noticed this and gently pulled him up by the arm and guided him to their tent, "Don't worry about your duties today love, the rest of us will take care of things, just rest," seeing that Scott was starting to object, Darjeeling decided to play her trump card, "Do this, and I promise you, we'll make up for how terrible today was tonight."

Scott was confused but intrigued, and so complied. Darjeeling took that moment to exit the tent and turn to the guard on-duty, "Excuse me, but could you tell me who is supposed to be on-duty tonight?"

The guard thought a moment, "Lady Pekoe and the younger Sir Hall. May I ask why Milady?"

Darjeeling blushed, "Perhaps it would be best if you didn't, for both our sakes."

Catching Darjeeling's blush, and understanding that Scott had been having a rough day and it wasn't even lunchtime yet, the guard caught on immediately, "I see, for their sake, I'll inform them that they should not stand guard tonight and clear it with Commander Hood."

Darjeeling inclined her head slightly, "Thank you," she replied.

Thankfully for everyone, the rest of the day had no further crisis form. Darjeeling stood outside their tent, having just dismissed the guard, and took a steadying breath. It wasn't that she was having any second thoughts, she was just hoping that Scott would be receptive to her proposal.

Damn the torpedoes and full steam ahead I suppose, she thought before entering the tent. She smiled at the sight that greeted her, Scott was lying on their cot with his eyes shut, looking rather peaceful. She almost hated to wake him, but she did promise, and she never wanted to break her promises to him.

Shedding her jacket, undershirt, boots and skirt, Darjeeling walked over to their cot and laid a hand on his shoulder, gently squeezing it.

Scott's eyes shot open and he tried to rub the drowsiness out of them, "Oh, have I slept all day?" he asked.

Darjeeling smiled, "It would seem so love, now, just try to relax while I get you out of uniform," she said before blushing slightly, "I mean, I'd rather not damage this, it looks so good on you."

This piqued Scott's curiosity, "How would you..." he began before realising that Darjeeling was standing in front of him, wearing nothing but underclothes, and she was taking off his clothes, "Sweetheart, can the cot take it?" he asked.

Darjeeling raised an eyebrow and Scott thought at first that he got it wrong, but then she spoke, "You mean, you're not going to try and talk me into waiting until June sixth?"

Scott breathed a sigh of relief, "We're going to marry in a little over three months, I think we're allowed a little leeway. Even if we aren't, who said we had to follow every tradition to the letter."

Darjeeling smiled, though it would have been difficult to determine if it was due to his words, or the fact that while they had been talking, she had gotten him down to his boxers. Sliding onto the cot beside him, neither of them held back.

* * *

Morning came and Foster decided to check on their commanders. He wasn't sure why Rhys suggested to Commander Hood that Scott and Darjeeling shouldn't have a standing guard for that night, but ever since they got the news that Josh and Assam had been captured, everyone was on edge.

Walking up to their tent, Foster paused, an odd smell making its way to his nose, the smell of sweat. Looking around, there were only a handful of people awake at the time, there wasn't any reason for anyone to have sweated. However, as he thought about it, he suddenly remembered how Darjeeling looked just before retiring for the evening. She looked eager, and in the lustful sort of eager.

Deciding discretion was the better part of valour, Foster beat a hasty retreat and returned to the command tent where David was waiting, "Ah, Foster, are Commander Perkins and Commander Darjeeling awake?" he asked.

Foster blushed, but before anyone could say anything, he spoke up, "I chose to not wake them, sir, considering the state they are surely in, I'd rather not see or hear them waking up from the night they must have had."

David nodded, but Charlotte spoke up, not in on the plot, "What do you mean Mr Hall?"

Foster, thankfully for him, didn't have to answer as David leaned in and whispered to her. After he finished explaining, Charlotte turned a bright red.

It was at that time that Scott and Darjeeling chose to enter the tent, Darjeeling being on his arm. Upon seeing them, most everyone turned away and busied themselves, Scott though, walked up to David, "Any more fires I need to be aware of from yesterday David?" he asked.

David shook his head, "No Milord, we're still trying to locate Josh and Assam."

Scott nodded before looking at Foster, "They'll be okay, Josh isn't one to give up."

* * *

Josh laid on his bed, his muscles still aching from the previous day's torture. Hearing the door to his cell open, Josh sighed, knowing it would begin again. Vladimir chuckled, "Don't sound so enthused to see me, Joshua," he taunted, then he looked to one of the guards and nodded, "Perhaps you'll be more excited to see her."

Josh's eyes sprung open and looked to the door, "Assam!" he called.

Standing behind Vladimir, Assam looked drawn and haggard. Vladimir chuckled before the guard spoke up, "Boss, just got word from the Doc, turns out, she's fresh."

Vladimir grew his sadistic smirk again watching the fear enter Josh's eyes, knowing that Assam would be just as scared. Turning to the guard beside Assam, he nodded, "Begin," he ordered.

As soon as the first hand was laid on Assam, Josh was restrained against the wall, their screams heard all around the camp. One man hears these and seethes, a plan forming in his head.


	11. Hell on Earth

It's been a month since Josh and Assam went missing, and Scott and Darjeeling were starting to get worried. Everyone was still on edge and it was like sitting on a powder keg and someone else had the fuse.

They had managed to run down the remainder of the Anzio/Jakasota alliance over the first few days and they had heard rumblings of the BC Freedom and Maginot joint team having been wiped out by Pravda but nothing else was heard, but the worst part of the whole affair came later that same day.

* * *

_Scott walked into the command tent with a look of confusion on his face. Heading for Darjeeling, he drew her off to the side, "Darling?" he asked, "Where are divisions five through eight?"_

_Darjeeling thought for a moment, "Out searching for Josh and Assam, why?"_

_Scott blinked, "Half of our forces out on the search! Do we have enough people for base defence? Do they know that they could be walking into a trap?"_

_Darjeeling pursed her lips, "Yes and yes Scott, honestly, it's like you don't think that I can handle command."_

_Scott's eyes widened, "Of course you can handle it, I just don't like being left out of the loop with regards to the people that are supposed to be under my care."_

_Darjeeling narrowed her eyes slightly, but before she exploded at him, Scott pressed a kiss to her forehead, "You know that I trust you more then I trust myself."_

That had been a stressful day…

* * *

Josh was barely hanging on. After being forced to watch as East High students raped his fiancée, they would alternate between beating him to within an inch of his life, electroshock, and raping Assam, though mercifully that only happened one time in the past two weeks.

The cell door opened, and Josh groaned, they were early this time.

Before he could say anything, his shackles fell to his side, "Come on, we haven't much time," a new voice said.

Josh opened his eyes and couldn't believe what he was seeing, Carolus Adolphus with Assam reaching out for his hand. Carolus recognised the look on his face, "I'll explain once we get out of here, but the guards will be waking up in ten minutes or less, we need to move, we still have one more stop to make."

Josh nodded and stood up, thankfully they didn't walk far as Josh was nearly out of breath when Carolus stopped in front of another cell. Upon seeing the occupant, Assam let out a soft gasp and Josh couldn't believe his eyes again. Inside the cell was Miho Nishizumi. Carolus, after helping her up and getting her to support Josh, led them out, "Miho's only been here a few hours, I knew I had to act the moment I saw her. Scott told me about her, and I knew I'd need the help breaking you two out."

Josh winced, pain shooting through his legs. Thankfully there was a car next to the door of the building.

After Miho and Carolus laid Josh and Assam in the back of the Jeep, they sat down in the front and Carolus looked to Miho, "Ōarai or St Gloriana?" he asked as he turned the wheel and put his foot on the accelerator.

Miho sighed, "Ōarai, we'll contact St Gloriana there and transfer peacefully," she decided, then she looked to him, "Are you sure about your path?"

Carolus nodded, "Scott can protect me, and, I need to see this through, you've got Pravda and Kuromorimine bearing down on you, who knows, we might make it home by May."

Turning the ignition, the Jeep roared to life and Carolus gunned the engine. By the time the East High students realised what had happened, they were long gone.

* * *

Hana was on guard duty with Saori, ever since Miho went missing, Günther had been going spare and it was clear that he wouldn't be able to command anything in the morning. Suddenly Saori looked up, "I hear something," she whispered.

Hana readied her rifle, a Kar98 that Ōarai had lying about. Once the noise got closer, they realised that it wasn't a person, but a single vehicle and soon a Jeep came into their field of view, "Halt! Who goes there?" Hana called.

"It's me, Hana," Miho called.

Hana nearly dropped her rifle, Saori rushed over and hugged her friend, Carolus though, spoke up, "I don't know what all they went through, but we need to get these three to a medic to check them over."

Hana looked in the back of the Jeep and saw Josh and Assam asleep, in a lot of pain, but asleep. She looked at Saori and she got the message, "I'll contact St Gloriana, see what we can arrange, Günther's been going spare since you went missing Miporin," she remarked.

Miho blushed and the Ōarai girls led them into the medical tent where, to the surprise of Carolus, the student council president, Anzu Kadotani, was the chief medic.

Anzu looked up when she heard the opening of the tent move, not expecting anyone to need medical attention in the middle of the night, she had been reading one of her favourite books. All of that was forgotten the moment Miho walked in, "Miho!" she called before standing and running over to her, running a critical eye over her, "You look okay, what happened?"

Miho waved her off, "Later Anzu, we've got two patients you need to look at," she said.

Anzu looked over Josh and Assam before gesturing for Carolus and Hana to set them on one of the cots and setting to work.

* * *

Scott and Darjeeling were sitting in the command tent, they should have been asleep, but no one was really able to relax.

Suddenly, one of the radio operators pressed his headset against his head. Eyes widening, he shot up, "Commanders!" he called.

Scott and Darjeeling rushed over to his side, and the operator placed his headset on Scott's head. Deciding to take a chance, Scott shrugged, "Perkins," he said, curtly.

A familiar voice came over the waves, "Lord Perkins, we have Joshua Hall and Assam recuperating after their capture by an unknown force, a turncoat broke them and our Commander out before bringing them here, due to distance, we are willing to deliver them to you."

Scott to a steadying breath, Darjeeling wasn't sure what was going on, but his next words told her all she needed to know, "Please confirm Saori, Ōarai has Joshua and Assam, they are recuperating from capture?"

Scott could hear the relief in her voice, "Yes we do, and yes they are, Commander Nishizumi would like to discuss transfer plans with you, standby."

Scott didn't have to wait long, "Scott?"

"Yes Miho, I'm here, what are your terms for our people?" he asked.

"An alliance, with the purpose to crush the forces of East High into a fine powder," she replied coldly.

Scott blinked, "Miho? What happened?"

At first, Scott thought she had disconnected, but then he heard the sobs, "Josh is in a bad way Scott, and Assam isn't faring much better, if it wasn't for Carolus, we'd all still be there."

Scott understood the message, there was something she wasn't telling him because it was still raw for her, "Grid Coordinates 3097-2633, meet us there, bring a sizeable force for your own protection, I have no idea where East High is, but I can give you preliminary agreement to your terms Miho."

Miho sighed, "Understood, coordinates 3097-2633, we'll be there at 0800, can you meet us then?"

Scott nodded, "I can, we'll bring the Churchill and Centurion with our four Matildas, we'll fly the Colours of the Yorkshire Regiment," he replied.

Receiving farewells, Scott set the headset down and look around, everyone was looking at him, "It looks like we'll get Josh and Assam back, and ally with Ōarai to bring about the destruction of their captors."

Everyone gave a collective sigh of relief. Scott and Darjeeling walked out to where they knew Foster would be, in his tent with Stanley, though Josh and Assam, and Scott and Darjeeling shared tents with their loves, it was only due to them already being engaged that they were able to get away with it, while the others couldn't.

Walking into the tent, Scott noticed that they were both still awake. Foster looked at them in hope, and Scott decided to end his suffering, "Foster, Ōarai has found Josh and Assam, apparently, East High captured them and they're in a bad way right now, we have a meeting at 0800 this morning with Miho to discuss an alliance to take our revenge on them."

Foster didn't hear most of what Scott said, he fixated on "Ōarai found them," and clung to that phrase like it was a life vest. On seeing Foster's disposition, Scott sent Darjeeling for Rosehip.

Stan spoke up once she had left, "They're really alright sir?"

Scott nodded, "Yes, East High will soon learn that when you mess with a lad from the Highlands, death will follow."

Rosehip entered the tent at that time in much her usual fashion, at high speed, and wrapped herself around Foster, tears of joy running down her face.

Deciding to give them some space, Stan and Scott exited the tent and Scott looked at his watch, "Three hours, then we need to start moving. If we don't get bogged down, we should arrive with a half an hour to spare," he remarked before looking to Darjeeling, "Get the Matilda Commanders up to speed, I'm going to brief Mister Wallace to have him conduct overwatch on the meeting."

Darjeeling nodded and, three hours later, the crews assembled and were off.

* * *

Scott looked around him, standing in the Centurion's Commander's cupola gave him a view of everyone involved, and he could see the apprehension and the paranoia in their eyes. They all knew that Miho wouldn't stoop to such a low blow to draw them into a trap, but the fear was there. Being there also felt wrong, as though he was in someone else's shoes. Not unexpected as he rarely entered the Centurion anymore, not wanting to step on Josh's toes and all.

His retrospection was cut short when the Centurion came to a halt at the meeting area. Barely acknowledging the words Foster said, Scott jumped out of the tank and planted the Yorkshire Regimental Colours on the Centurion.

It didn't take long before Ōarai showed up with Miho's Panzer and Günther's Panther as combat vehicles and a truck transporting infantry and, Scott assumed, Josh and Assam. Approaching them, Scott ensured that he didn't look threatening, though he couldn't do anything about his nerves.

Miho clambered down from the Panzer's cupola, joined in quick order by Günther. Once they were no more than three paces from each other, Miho opened the discussion, "Normally this would be considered a bad negotiating tactic, but they need you just as much as you need them," she said, gesturing to the girls by the truck.

Scott looked and, being gently pulled out of the back of the truck, was Josh and Assam, who, with a great deal of help by the Ōarai girls, made their way to the negotiating group. Scott was shocked at the sight of the man he considered a brother, battered, bruised and barely able to walk. Once they got close though, Scott noticed the haunted looks in their eyes and knew something terrible had happened to them. Once they reached them, Scott offered a small smile, "Good to see you Josh, and you Assam, get some rest, we'll handle the..."

Suddenly a large explosion was heard and then screaming could be heard from the St Gloriana lines. Turning to face it, Scott saw a crater that wasn't there a minute ago and he noticed Rukuriri standing completely still, covered in dirt.

They all rushed over to her, though in the case of Josh and Assam, much slower than the others. Once they did, Scott noticed that the dirt had a slight reddish tint to it and that Rukuriri wasn't responding to anything that was said around her.

A shot rang out and Scott turned to face this new threat but was confronted with the sight of one of the St Gloriana girls dragging someone out of the forest. Just then he heard a voice come from behind him, "Bloody hell, that's an East High student!"

Spinning around again, he was starting to get dizzy at this rate, Scott blinked, "Carolus? What the hell?"

Carolus sighed, "Long story short, I broke Josh, Assam and Miho out of East's compound and now I suspect something foul is afoot."

Just then, Rukuriri collapsed to her knees and began crying for William. Scott looked around, knowing William should be around nearby, but he can't find him. Just then he noticed that one of the blobs of dirt on her had a familiar fabric stuck to it, it was then that his mind connected the dots and the horrible truth came into focus, "Oh God! William was at the centre of that crater, wasn't he?" he asked.

Everyone turned to him, horror in their eyes, but when Rukuriri nodded, grief filled in their eyes. Scott looked down, then towards the sky, as if looking to God for an answer. When he brought his head down, people shuttered, as if it just dropped twenty degrees, "Carolus," Scott began, "I need information, East High has forfeited their last chance for mercy. Now, we show them what happens when you piss off Lord Scott George Perkins! Hell will arrive at their door, and we will not knock!" he shouted.

Cheers rose from the St Gloriana contingent and Ōarai soon followed. Carolus nodded, "I will give you everything Scott, just leave enough of Vladimir for me to give a good swift kick to."

Scott nodded before looking to Darjeeling and Miho, "Best call all our forces, Miho, I trust Ōarai is ready?" he asked.

He received a nod from Miho, and so turned to Darjeeling, "Call the others, make sure they're ready, and make sure that Norton understands that this is not optional."

Darjeeling nodded and walked off to the Churchill. Soon, people started to assemble from the teams. It was decided that a full-frontal attack would catch them off guard and they could overwhelm them. Scott would lead the attack in the Centurion as Josh and Assam were sent back to the St Gloriana camp to recover from what they went through. Scott knew that he would never get the full story of what happened to them, but he was okay with that, he wasn't sure he could handle the full story anyways.

* * *

A lone figure looked over the battlefield, various Soviet and German vehicles lay disabled, but the Germans had completely crushed the Soviet forces. Turning to her left, the figure nodded to her most trusted subordinate, "Let's go, Erika," Maho said, "I think it's time to find my sister, either we eliminate her from the tournament, or we finally get to go home."

Erika nodded, "This tournament isn't what I thought I would be, I'd be thankful if it was never re-introduced."

Maho shut her eyes for a second, "For some reason, I don't think it will," she muttered.


	12. Revenge!

Scott looked across his allies, both he and Miho had kept a quarter of their forces at their bases, just to be safe, and they had a mighty force, ready to tear into East High with a vengeance. Taking a deep breath, Scott looked up, they were hidden in the forest just south of their camp and could see their target clearly. It was also clear that they weren't expected.

Carolus knelt next to Scott, much more comfortable in a St Gloriana uniform than his old one, "Well, are we expected?" he asked.

Scott shook his head, "No, and there's double the guards you suspected, though that could be down to the fact that you did break out three prisoners yesterday," he replied before looking at him, "Are there any others we should know about?" he asked.

Carolus shook his head, "Not unless they were captured in the last few hours, it should be entirely East High in there."

Scott grew a feral grin, "Perfect," he muttered before grabbing his whistle, "Time for vengeance then."

Letting loose an ear-splitting whistle, the signal was given: Begin the Attack!

The woods filled with the cries of battle from frenzied students, shots soon followed and the battle began.

The sentries were the first to fall, it was doubtful if they even knew from where they were being attacked. With a great roar, tanks began pouring out of the woods, first the Centurion, then the Panzer IV, then more and more followed. Slowly, some of the students of East High realised what was going on and tried to fight back, some of them even tried to get in a tank that Scott didn't recognise. These were the priority targets and quickly fell to the fire from Ōarai and St Gloriana.

In what turned into a turkey shoot, Scott soon dismounted, elements of the allied force clearing the remaining tents when Elisa approached him, "Milord, we've captured the enemy Commander."

Scott nodded before turning to Miho, "Well, since you were hurt by him as well, I think you should come with me Miho, we'll end this, together."

Miho nodded and joined Scott, Darjeeling and Günther heading for the Command tent. Seeing Vladimir bound brought a great deal of relief to Scott, but Pekoe came up to them, looking very disturbed, "I found these, you better read them," she whispered, thrusting a stack of papers at him.

Scott raised an eyebrow and read the papers, first turning a grey pallor, before turning quite green and finally red. Looking at him, Vladimir knew what he was shown and began to fear for his life, "Well Mister Lavrinenko, it appears as though I still cannot quite live my life in peace," Scott began, "These papers will be quite useful to the bobbies back home, and I suspect you'll be pulled in front of an International Committee on Justice."

Vladimir paled, when he made the deal with the Duke of Lancaster, he didn't think it would backfire so spectacularly, Scott wasn't done yet though, "Vladimir Lavrinenko, for the crimes of torturing prisoners, Prisoner Abuse, the raping and planned raping of prisoners, I herewith sentence you to execution by firing squad in fifteen minutes, perhaps you'll get a preview to what the UN will sentence you to," he declared.

Vladimir had to be dragged out of the tent as he had passed out, though not before pissing himself.

Within fifteen minutes, everyone was assembled just outside the East Base, Vladimir was tied to a post and awaiting his fate.

Scott and Miho stepped forward, it was decided between them and radioing Josh and Assam that it would all come out. Scott was chosen to handle the matter, "Fellow students, that thing tied to the post deserves no mercy, especially since he denied it to his prisoners!" Scott shouted before facing them, "Over the course of the last month, we of St Gloriana have been worried sick over the fate of our Joshua Hall and Assam. It turns out, we were right to be worried! Over the course of that month, Joshua and Assam were subjected to Electro-Torture, and Joshua was submitted to beatings!" he snarled before growing unsteady, "And if we thought that was much, he then forced Joshua to watch as he and his thugs raped Assam before his eyes!"

Shouts of disgust came from the crowd and the firing squad could barely contain their glee at taking him down a few pegs. But Scott wasn't done yet, "Yesterday, East High captured Lady Nishizumi, and, in reading documents detailing how each prisoner was to be treated, it turns out that not even Miho, who is over five months pregnant, would be exempt from this treatment as her 'schedule' calls for beatings, and for Rape!" he shouted, the crowd's eagerness to take a piece out of him caused him to raise his voice just to be heard, "I, therefore, feel no guilt or shame in ordering the proceedings forward."

With that, Scott stepped to the side, and the firing squad stepped forward. It consisted of five members, three from St Gloriana and two, Yukari and Hana, from Ōarai.

Everyone went silent, the rifles ready and aimed at Vladimir, suddenly, Scott barked, "Fire!" and five rifles fired in perfect synchronisation. Each bullet was designed so that when the centre mass hit someone, they would fall. Taking five bullets at the same time meant that Vladimir wasn't going to be standing anytime soon.

Just then, a messenger walked up to Miho and whispered into her ear, then Miho turned to Scott, "It seems as though my sister failed to take my base," she said.

Scott was confused, but she soon cleared up the confusion, "Ōarai and St Gloriana are the only teams on the field."


	13. The End of the War

Scott blinked a few times, then looked at Darjeeling and Günther, his eyes betraying his exhaustion, "I don't quite feel up to commanding a massive battle, not after what we've just gone through."

Much to his surprise, they all nodded in agreement with him, and Miho spoke up, "Flag tank duel? Winner claims victory over the tournament?"

Scott scratched his head, "I'd agree to that, but what would our flag tank be? An argument could be made for the Centurion and one could be made for the Churchill."

Miho smiled, "I'll let you two decide and I tell everyone the plan, I'm sure they'll agree."

Miho and Günther left them, heading off to inform the others. Scott looked at Darjeeling, "Well, what shall we do dear? You are the commander of the tank force after all."

Darjeeling thought for a moment before looking at the Centurion, "The Centurion still has most of its ammo, correct?" she asked.

Scott nodded and Darjeeling smiled, "I'll take the Centurion out against Miho, let you rest," she replied before standing.

She didn't get far, in fact, she didn't move at all as her knees buckled and she had to reach out and grab Scott to keep from falling, "Darjeeling?" he asked.

Taking a deep breath, Darjeeling looked up at him, "I'm fine, just stood up too fast."

Scott nodded, "Alright, don't overdo it out there," he ordered.

Darjeeling smirked, "Overdo it? Me? Never,"

Scott huffed and rolled his eyes before pecking her cheek and moving to stand beside Günther.

Darjeeling and Miho bowed to each other before getting into their tanks, a flare from Scott signifying the start of the duel. The crowd watching intermingled with each other, neither side really wanted to win this tournament but knew it had to be done.

Seeing that everyone was in position, Scott grabbed his flare gun and fired into the air, the duel was on!

Once Darjeeling saw the flare, she felt the Centurion respond, Foster driving in erratic patterns to throw off Hana's aim, Stan keeping the gun loaded for Rhys to keep firing.

The shots started to grow closer to the Panzer IV when it started to drive just as erratic as the Centurion, everyone knew it was only a matter of time before someone landed a hit.

Finally, Darjeeling tapped her radio, "Foster! Drift around them! Rhys! Fire when you've got the Panzer filling your scope!"

"Ay, ma'am!" Rhys and Foster replied and, much like how Ōarai beat Kuromorimine a year ago, Miho couldn't turn her turret fast enough to track the Centurion and the disabling shot rang out and the white flag popped on the Panzer.

Seeing that flag pop was the cue that everyone took to cheer, happier at being able to go home than winning or losing the tournament. Miho brought her radio to her mouth, "Ōarai formally surrenders to St Gloriana."

"Ōarai eliminated! St Gloriana Wins!" the radio blared, causing a new round of cheering to begin, "Please wait where you are, helicopters are enroute to your location, to take you and your equipment home. All commanders are requested for a final ceremony that will take place tomorrow morning."

* * *

It didn't take long before the choppers had landed and were loading the equipment and people. Everyone, including the ones back at the Ōarai and St Gloriana camps, were soon in Tokyo along with the other commanders, waiting for their debrief, though none could mistake the look of open hostility Miho, Scott and Darjeeling aimed at Vladimir.

Soon, Shiho entered, though it was at a sprint and she rushed over to her daughters, making sure they were alright. Various officials entered soon after her, one of them caught Scott's eye, Boris Johnson, the newly elected Prime Minister for the United Kingdom.

Waiting for Shiho to collect herself, Cristina Maus, head of the German delegation, began, "Congratulations to all for participating in the World War Tournament, and especially to the St Gloriana team for winning," she began and let the commanders pass on their congratulations before hardening her expression, "Lord Perkins, I understand you discovered something regarding East High other than their attempted use of an M1A1 Abrams?"

Scott stood, slightly surprised that on top of all that they had done, East High had still attempted to cheat, "Yes ma'am, here are the documents that we found in the East High base camp. In them, you can clearly see their committing and intent to commit War Crimes," he replied, handing to documents to her. Seeing the revulsion on their faces, and in the case of Shiho, complete and utter terror, Scott pressed on, "I ask what the International community is going to do about this."

Boris actually spoke up, "Well, I'd have to speak with Her Majesty, but I can assure you, seeing as though this affected one of our citizens, we will be seeking retribution," he replied before looking to his Japanese counterpart, "We would welcome your people should they choose to join us in our quest for vengeance Prime Minister."

Prime Minister Shihzō Abe had a look of fury on his face, "The Japanese people will be outraged, as I am, and will demand the UN step in as this crosses International borders!"

Cristina spoke up, "I'd have to confirm this with Chancellor Merkel, but I theorise that you'll have the full backing of the German people and their Government considering one of our citizens was also affected, even if it was relatively indirectly when compared to that suffering from Ladies Assam and Nishizumi and Mister Hall experienced."

Everyone turned to the American delegation, the head of which was a 2nd Lieutenant of the Marine Corps, Lieutenant Robin Jones. He knew his answer wouldn't be liked, "I cannot pass judgement, this is a matter for diplomats and lawyers, not soldiers," he said.

Vladimir looked triumphant; he knew his father held significant sway over the White House, any diplomat agreeing to extradite him would also be looking for a new job. However, the Lieutenant continued, "I am, however, aware of Mister Lavrinenko's aspirations to join the American Marine Corp, and, as such, I will be reporting this too, not only my CO but also NCIS."

Two security guards appeared at his side and escorted him out. After they were out of the room, Jones sighed, "I doubt it will come to anything," he muttered, coming to a decision, "Typically, I am not allowed in saying anything against the government or the military and I'm facing a court-martial saying this, but, NCIS isn't the force you see on TV and I wouldn't hold out much hope of getting Mister Lavrinenko to face a judge at The Hague, there are rumblings amongst the civilians that his father holds some sort of sway over the White House, with some rumouring that it goes all the way to the President."

Boris sighed, knowing from experience how troublesome the American President could be, "Your Grace," he began, addressing Scott, "While I have no doubt of the Queen's fury over the matter, and that you will be able to hear her fury from here in Japan, if the Americans do not allow us to extradite him, things could be very delicate. Hell, they're already so delicate that most leaders hold their tongue around their President, so as to avoid a diplomatic incident on the scale of Zimmerman!" he exclaimed before looking to Cristina, "No offence Ma'am."

Cristina shrugged, "None taken, though I do agree with you, Minister Johnson, the Americans will be our biggest obstacle."

Suddenly, Katyusha spoke up, "Give him an ultimatum: show up and be tried, or, if he fails to show, be tried in absentia. It's as good as an admission of guilt."

Cristina cocked her head, she hadn't thought of that, but it was Boris who spoke up, "You know, that might actually work," he muttered before looking at Cristina, "I'll make the necessary calls, I'll also try and push for it being soon," he said, then looked at Scott and Darjeeling, "I know you two are looking to get married soon and you'll likely have to testify and I'd rather not interrupt your honeymoon."

With that, they all took their leave, though not before both Prime Ministers offered Katyusha jobs if she wanted. She decided to think about it.

Finally, it was just the students left. Maho chose to speak up, "You know, I'm glad we get to go home, but what now? Every plan was made with the intention of being occupied until June."

Scott sighed, "A nap and a real shower are on the docket for us, I think. But I've got someone who watched as someone was vaporised in front of her eyes, we need to check on her."

Just then, Stan walked in, some amusement in his eyes, "Milord, I think you'll want to watch this," he said as he plugged a flash drive into a TV and played a video file.

* * *

_Vladimir was walking in front of the camera, obviously taken from a guard's perspective. Just then, a brown-haired blur came across from the right of the screen and a loud crack was heard._

_As Vladimir screamed in pain and went down, the camera clearly picked up Marie standing in front of him with her hands on her hips. It was the words that she said and the venom in them that would shock people, "A 'còcaireachd idiot!" she cried before Lady Grey scooped her up and the clip ended._

* * *

Most of the commanders blinked, unsure of what they just watched. Scott though just gulped.

Miho soon spoke up, "What on Earth was that?"

Scott looked at Darjeeling, confusion in her eyes, so decided to clear matters up, "That would be our Ward, Marie, I found her just after I was incapacitated after our match with Saunders last season."

Darjeeling took a deep breath, certain she wouldn't like the answer to her question, "And what, dear Husband-to-be, did she say? And where did she learn it from?"

Scott turned a bright red, but it was Stan who answered her, "She called him a 'Cocking idiot', literally, and Lady Grey said that she watched our progress on TV."

Scott then paled, the sudden change alarming, "Shit, she learnt that from me then!"

Darjeeling glared at him, everyone knew she wasn't happy but also knew that it wouldn't be too bad for Scott, they did love each other after all, "Couch for a week," she ordered.

Scott bowed his head, "Yes Darjeeling," he whispered.

This caused her to soften her expression, "Don't fret Love, that week will pass quite quickly."

Scott smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes as they left the room.

Once they mingled a bit, Scott and Darjeeling may their way over to Lady Grey, Scott speaking before Lady Grey could, "Stan showed us the video ma'am," then he took Marie into his arms, "Marie, even though the sentiment was shared by many people, please don't call anyone what you called Mister Lavrinenko, it's quite rude and vulgar," seeing the fear in her eyes, Scott just tightened his embrace of her, "Darjeeling and I still love you, just, don't use that kind of language again."

Marie quietly nodded, then Josh spoke up, "If you'd like Marie, and if Scott and Darjeeling approve, I could teach you proper usage of that language."

Scott looked to Darjeeling and got a small nod with a smile. Then he had an idea, "Well, as your punishment for the use of such vulgar language, I think you should have at least a week's worth of lessons, then you could decide if it's something you'd like to continue."

No one was fooled, they all knew it was rather light for a girl who loved to learn but they could understand why they did that.

It didn't take long for them to reach home, and they all went straight to bed when they got there, but they knew that they would have a busy schedule for a while yet, even if they didn't know about all of the events just yet...


	14. Recovery Begins

The next morning, Lady Grey assembled all three teams, "Good morning everyone, I trust you all slept well in real beds?" she asked, smirking at the sight of Scott rubbing his neck, the couch was many things, but it didn't fold out into a hideaway bed.

Lady Grey went on to praise them for their victory before then dropping a bombshell on them, "I have been told by each of your Headmasters that, should you wish it, you may remain here for the remainder of the time you were originally supposed to be competing."

She would never tell anyone other than Scott and Darjeeling much later in life that she had to fight with the Head of Wellesley to get that much. He wanted to do so, but only for the Pilots. Needless to say, that wouldn't have flown well and she made sure he became acutely aware of just how far out of favour the pilots had fallen.

Much to no one's surprise though, most of the students just wanted to go home. Charlotte, David, and Elizabeth chose to remain though, bringing a smile to many of the St Gloriana students, though the smile could have also been attributed to Alexandre announcing his intention to return home.

No one was also surprised that Lady Grey planned a Ball for that Saturday, even their guests were getting used to it. What they were surprised about though was that she asked Josh, Assam, Scott and Darjeeling to stay behind.

Once they were alone, Lady Grey shut her eyes for a moment, "Your parents are on their way Josh, Assam. Assam's parents are at the airport right now waiting for the plane to come in."

Josh nodded slightly, not really wanting to talk much. After they had returned to the _Ark Royal_ , Josh and Assam retreated to their rooms, it had taken everything they had to sit through Lady Grey's announcements without breaking into a panic attack. Lady Grey noticed their disposition and hoped that her news would cheer them up a little, "Through Prime Minister Johnson's contacts in Britain, he has convinced the Department of Education and Secretary Williamson to advance you, Josh, in light of recent events, so that you may graduate on the Second of June, along with Scott, Darjeeling and most importantly, Assam."

Josh cracked a slight smile at that, while it meant that they could, in theory, marry straight out of school, like Scott and Darjeeling, they had decided on another path, "Assam and I intend to rebuild ourselves before we tie the knot, with me not having to go to classes, we may be having that wedding sooner then we first thought."

It was telling of the Hell they went through that Assam didn't pounce on Josh and snog him senseless, rather, just rubbing his hand and laying her head on his shoulder.

Scott then remembered something Josh had mentioned to him a while ago, "Does that mean you've declined the Royal Navy Josh?" he gently asked.

Josh nodded, "I sent the letter when we left for the tournament. I had figured that I would still have a year of school, but there was no way I was going to uproot Assam and her family. Besides, there are plenty of opportunities in Japan," he remarked before smirking, "How does 'Professor Hall, a colleague of Professor Perkins' sound?"

Scott smiled and Darjeeling's eyes lit up, "Well, _Professor_ , looks like you and I have to hit the books in our near future," Scott remarked, then he smirked, "Think of your lessons with Marie as a test for you to see if you'd like it."

With that, they went their separate ways, Scott and Darjeeling headed for home while Josh, Assam and Lady Grey went to the Airport to meet Josh's parents.

Once they reached home, Darjeeling looked at a note that Foster, Stan, Rosehip and Pekoe left, "Figured you'd be a while, took Marie out, will probably be back around dinner with one tired kid."

Scott looked over her shoulder, "Well that was nice of them, and dinner's still a couple of hours out, do you want to head out, or stay in?"

Darjeeling took a sharp inhale, she knew it was now or never, though she kind of hoped she was wrong, "Scott, you remember what we did in the beginning of March? Right?"

Scott blushed slightly, "How could I forget, I don't think I realised until then just how lucky I got with you falling for me and vice-versa. Why do you ask?"

Darjeeling sat down, trembling slightly, "Scott," she whispered, "I'm late."

Scott blinked a few times before it clicked with him, "You haven't had your cycle since then?" he asked.

Darjeeling shook her head but Scott took her hand, "Sweetheart, it could just be the amount of stress we were put under, I wouldn't be surprised if most people bodies reacted to the situation," he whispered before pecking her forehead, "But, I think, just to put us at ease, you should take that test thing. It's the one thing we can test at home without talking to a doctor about."

Darjeeling nodded before bringing him into their bedroom and pulling two small boxes out from her nightstand, "Let me guess," Scott began, "You went and got the tests when we got back."

Darjeeling nodded before turning back to him, "I got two just to eliminate a false reading. If they both show a line, we're going to be having a baby, but if they both show different things, we need to go to the doctor."

Scott nodded before gesturing to their bathroom, "Well, you don't need my help in getting the samples, how long will it take?"

Darjeeling smiled, "Five minutes, then I'll come out and we'll see what they say."

With that, she disappeared into their bathroom, leaving Scott sitting on their bed. He had a few things on his mind: would he make a good father? How would they tell those close to them? _When_ would they tell? What would the child look like? Would it be a boy or girl? Would he have to get some sort of firearm to ward off the wrong sort of boyfriends if he had a daughter? They had already discussed who the child's godparents would be, but when should they be told? Earlier? With the others?

It seemed as if time sped up around him as it didn't feel like five minutes later, but Darjeeling sat next to him on the bed and handed him one of the tests. "Scott? Are you alright?" she asked.

Nodding, Scott smiled, "Yes, just some thinking," he replied.

Darjeeling leaned into him as she looked at the test in her hand. A pink line was clearly present on the test.

Scott looked at the one in his hand, knowing that no matter the result, the doctor's office would be in their future. Without betraying any information on his face, Scott looked to Darjeeling, she almost didn't hear what he said.

* * *

Stan watched as Foster and Rosehip played with Marie at the park, content with having an arm around Pekoe while the energetic ones ran around with the little ball of energy. For a moment, he almost forgot that he was watching two of his friends and another friend's Ward, and not his own children. Sighing softly, he caught the attention of Pekoe, "Something wrong Stan?"

Stan shook his head, "Not really, just reflecting," he murmured.

Seeing the look on her face, Stan continued, "Of the four couples, only two aren't engaged, though, for good reasons, I think our parents would kill us if we announced our engagement."

Pekoe smiled, happy that he was thinking that far ahead, then she decided to speak up, "Mum and Dad loved you when they visited at Christmas, and our parents got on like a house on fire, I don't think there's any concern we are together for anything less than our lifetime."

Stan nodded, "This is not a fling, that's for sure. I guess I'm just worried that we'll see Scott, Darjeeling, Josh and Assam and try to do as they do and go too far, too fast."

Pekoe laid her head on his shoulder, "We'll cross that bridge when we get there," she murmured as she shut her eyes.

Stan smiled as he pulled Pekoe close to him, everyone knew that the tournament took a lot out of them and that it would take weeks or even months to recover fully if they recovered at all.

* * *

Later that evening, everyone was sitting down after dinner in the living room, the conversation light not just for Josh and Assam's sake, but also because their parents were sitting in the room. It didn't take long for the conversation to turn to Scott and Darjeeling's wedding plans and how they would be affected by the early end to the tournament.

Suddenly, Assam's father, Kitagawa Masatane, reacted to a buzzing that seemed to be emanating from his phone, "Masatane. Yes, he's here, why? Pardon? I'm on my way!" after hanging up and standing, he looked to Scott, "Mister Perkins, I'm afraid I have need of you. I'll explain on the way."

Scott furrowed his brow, confused, but, after detangling himself from Darjeeling, he quickly fell in step with him.

Getting in Kitagawa's car, he began explaining, "Right now, there are officers engaged in a standoff, but not how you're probably thinking. They're trying to convince the person to step back towards them and not off the side of the ship."

Hearing that, Scott's eyebrows shot into his hairline, "There's not a snowball's chance in hell that anyone could survive a fall from that high!" he exclaimed then turned to face Kitagawa, "I need all the information sir, who's trying to kill themselves?"

Kitagawa grimaced, knowing that there was a chance it could go horribly wrong, but he didn't have a choice, "Rukuriri," he simply said.

Scott paused a moment, then rubbed his eyes, "This is complicated, largely because I don't have the whole story," he said softly before taking a steadying breath and looking straight ahead, "At the end of the tournament, when Ōarai brought Josh and Assam, William Wallace was vaporised in front of Rukuriri by East High. The complicated bit is that I'm not sure what the status of their relationship was, but I do know that they, at the very least, were hoping to date after the tournament was done."

Once they reached a police barricade, Scott knew it was showtime. After being shown through the lines, Scott saw the extent of the situation: Rukuriri stood on the wrong side of the protective railing that kept people on the _Ark Royal_ and out of the ocean. Several police officers and a person who was clearly with them, but not an officer, probably a negotiator, stood trying to convince her to side back to safety, to little effect.

Listening with half a mind, Scott looked around him before spotting something, the mechanism for recreational Bungie-jumping less then a hundred metres away, maybe they could use that if things went pear-shaped. Suddenly, his attention was drawn to Rukuriri herself as she began to lean backwards. He knew he needed to act, so did, "Rukuriri!" he shouted.

Rukuriri had been tiring as the negotiator tried to talk her back, but her mind was set. After William's death, it had been a haze, she vaguely remembers seeing the end of the tournament and sitting with her teammates listening to Lady Grey, but eventually, she was left to her own devices. She didn't know when she reached the edge of the ship, or how long she stood there, but, suddenly, her mind focused, realising that the only thing stopping her from joining William was a rather easily climbable railing and letting go. She wasn't sure why she was still hanging on, maybe to entertain the people that saw her climb over the railing or something. It was as she was leaning back that she heard Scott call her name. Tears formed in her eyes, she expected that with Scott nearby, that meant that Darjeeling was too, and she never wanted to disappoint Darjeeling, but she couldn't see any alternative to her situation, "Go away Scott," she replied, "Let me die alone."

Scott shook his head and took a small step towards her, knowing that any sudden movement would spook her, "Rukuriri, I know what you're going through, I lost people I cared about too before my eyes."

Rukuriri looked at him, tears falling in rivers down her cheeks. She wanted to believe him, a part of her was screaming at her to get back to safety, but there was another part of her that just didn't care about anything, that just wanted to be with William.

Seeing this, Scott pushed on while slowly stepping towards her, "Rukuriri, I may not know just how far your relationship with William went, but I do know that he wouldn't want you to join him now, not like this."

Rukuriri gripped the railing, remembering a less than innocent night three days ago, the night before William was killed. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore, "We loved each other!" she shouted, the tears that had been falling steadily until now, now she was bawling, "We slept together! I can't live without him!" she screamed.

Mentally filing that information, Scott calmly replied, "So do Darjeeling and I, but, should one of us die, we agreed to live the rest of our life to it's fullest, living each moment without the other for them," then he looked at Rukuriri gently, "Marie also depends on us now, so we have another reason to live, and so do you, I don't want to tell Marie that her Aunt Rukuriri won't be able to visit anymore."

Finally, Scott was right in front of Rukuriri and reached out to her. Everyone held their breath, praying that Scott managed to convince her to step to safety. After what seemed like an eternity, Rukuriri let go of the railing and took Scott's hand. He wasted no time in pulling her across and back to safety.

After making sure that Rukuriri would be well looked after, Scott and Kitagawa made their way back to the house, wherein, they were clearly expected by the rest of the house, though Marie had been sent to bed. Scott had just sat down next to Darjeeling when the enormity of the task he had just done set in. Trembling, Scott wrapped his arms around Darjeeling.

Unsure of what happened, Darjeeling wrapped her arms around him while looking expectantly to Kitagawa, he didn't disappoint, "Scott and I just came from the side of the ship, where Scott just managed to convince Rukuriri to step back onto the safe side of the railings."

Hearing that, most of the room gasped, but Kitagawa looked at Lady Grey, "Is there going to be some sort of remembrance event for Mister Wallace? It would go a long way for Rukuriri and others," he said.

Lady Grey nodded before leaning back in her chair, deep in thought. Scott could barely keep his eyes open, being completely drained. Seeing this, Darjeeling bid everyone good night before helping Scott to bed.

Seeing Darjeeling haul Scott to their bedroom had Foster thinking, "Didn't Darjeeling banish Scott to the couch for a week?" he asked.

Stan nodded, "Yes she did, though she's probably assuming, quite rightly, that Scott's going to need her right now."

Annabelle Hall didn't say anything, she had her own theory about what was happening but chose to keep quiet until she could speak with either Scott or Darjeeling, though preferably she would speak with both.

It didn't take too much longer before everyone dispersed, the kids to their rooms, and the adults to their homes. Once they got to their accommodations, Theodore Hall looked at his wife, "Anna, you're awfully quiet, what's troubling you?"

Annabelle shook her head dismissively, "It's probably nothing, but the way Scott and Darjeeling were acting reminded me of how we acted when we had just found out when I was pregnant with each our boys."

Theodore knew what she was implying, "It probably happened when Josh and Assam were captured during the tournament then, it's what makes sense," he replied, then he rubbed his brow, "Now, what do we say?"

Annabelle shook her head, "Nothing, not until they say so, and not until I speak with them, we could be completely wrong after all."

Heading off to bed, Theodore didn't think so but learnt years ago that sometimes, you shouldn't argue with your wife.


	15. The Funeral of Cooperation

That Wednesday, everyone from the St Gloriana team, as well as some delegations from Ōarai, Pravda, Kuromorimine, Anzio and Jakasota, gathered outside the St Gloriana Tank Garages. British flags hung off the barrels of each tank, everyone wore their best clothes, but the air was sombre, they were having a celebration of life for William. Scott looked around, all of the Highland students were putting on a brave face, word travelled fast, and they had heard about Rukuriri and her relationship with William and they were doing their utmost to ensure that she was alright. Right now, Rukuriri was being comforted by Elizabeth, the scene made a small smile grace the features of Scott and Darjeeling, glad that someone outside of St Gloriana was sympathetic to her.

It was then that the Headmaster of Highland stood before them and began speaking, "I am glad to see so many people gathered here today, and I'm sure William would be glad to see that there aren't that many gloomy faces here," he remarked, drawing a few chuckles from the crowd.

Tearing up slightly, the Headmaster continued, "When I first met young Mister Wallace, I knew he would be a good kid if a bit of a riot. His teachers and classmates can attest to William's ability to read a situation and know just what to say to turn your day around. Since we are trying to make today as light an affair as possible, I'm the only dedicated speaker for the day, but I encourage you to share stories and to listen to them as well," he said before taking a fortifying breath, "In my family, we say 'Death is not a goodbye, it is a see you again', I know we will each see William again, some of us sooner than others, but one day, we will reunite with the young lad."

After the Headmaster stepped down, Scott and Darjeeling walked over to Elizabeth and Rukuriri, "Hey Rukuriri, how are you feeling?" he asked.

Rukuriri gave a small, tearful smile to Scott, "Nothing can replace that which I lost, but I hope that there will be people around me who can pull me back when I need it as you did," she murmured.

Scott laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, "If ever you need an ear or a shoulder, give us a call."

Darjeeling nodded, "Yes Rukuriri, we may grow older, and great distances may separate us, but you can give us a call at any time."

Rukuriri nodded before walking off to mingle with others. Scott looked to Elizabeth, "What about you Elizabeth, how are you holding up?"

Elizabeth looked down, tears flooding her eyes. Scott almost didn't hear her reply, but he did, "Rukuriri wasn't the only who loved him, just the only one to act on it."

Scott raised his eyebrow, prompting her to continue, "I don't hate Rukuriri for doing what I was too scared to do, I just wish I could have told him."

Scott set a hand on her shoulder, there was little he could say in a situation like this. Thankfully he was saved by the bell, or rather the bagpipes, as they began to play Amazing Grace, a fitting tribute to a son of the Highlands, he thought.

* * *

The remainder of the week passed rather quietly, William's celebration of life took a great deal out of everyone and most of the foreigners were just waiting for Sunday morning when they would board planes bound for Britain and home. First, though, there was the ball that Lady Grey had planned. Thankfully, the pilots had seen that since it had been a rough week, it would be best for their health if they didn't bar the ground crews from attending, meaning that it would be busier then before.

Josh and Assam would be giving the ball a miss, someone needs to stay with Marie after all. Everyone else, though, would be there.

Looking every part the gentleman, Scott waited in the living room for everyone else to finish dressing. It didn't take long before people started filing in, Scott smiled as Darjeeling sat next to him and cuddled with him, he knew that the next few months would be interesting for them.

Soon, they were all set and parted for the ball after saying goodnight to Marie. As usual, it didn't take them long to reach the hall, where they were treated to the sight of people dancing without really putting their hearts into it.

Scott looked around and led Darjeeling onto the floor, his paranoia working overtime. He could feel that something would happen, and he wasn't sure it was going to be good.

* * *

A half an hour into the ball, Scott got his answer. The band was playing a fast step and most people were on the floor. Scott looked over at the punch bowl and saw that Elizabeth was talking with Rukuriri, both girls were smiling so it must have been a good topic when it happened. As Scott was beginning to turn, one of the pilots made his approach to the girls, "Evening ladies," he said, surprisingly civil as he turned to Rukuriri, "Would you accompany me unto the floor?"

Rukuriri shook her head, "I am not yet ready for that, though…"

She didn't get a chance to finish as the pilot exploded, "Why not? _William_? News for you lady, _he's DEAD_ , you might as well dance as no one will ever give you a second look!"

Instruments squawked as the rest of the hall became as quiet as a mouse, but he ploughed right on, unaware of the hole he was digging for himself, "You might as well start getting used to the loneliness, you'll never have anyone."

" _PILOT_!" Scott bellowed, "I do believe you've overstayed your welcome."

The pilot had had enough, "Fuck you, Perkins, you have no power over me, never have," he shouted, purely in anger and not in an attempt to be heard as the entire hall was too shocked to make a noise.

Scott curled his brow, anger simmering just below his skin, but he didn't yet say anything, much to his later regret as he continued on his tirade, "You and your whore…"

He didn't get any further as Scott crossed the five metres in quick step and connected his fist with the pilot's jaw, causing him to stumble back a few steps. Scott wasn't done yet though, years of repressed anger and aggression boiled to the service and manifested in several strikes against him.

After Scott blew enough anger off, he stepped back; the pilot had gained a black eye, cut lip and the way that he was cradling his jewels suggested that there was some damage there. However, what startled pretty much everyone was the ice-cold nature his voice took on, "Insult me, batter me, I will not retaliate. What I will not do, however, is stand idly by whilst you attack my wife-to-be; mess with her, and my full anger shall be brought upon you."

At that, Scott stepped out of the room, with Darjeeling hot on his tail. The band started back up and people started to dance again. Foster looked at Rosehip, Stan and Pekoe and they all looked at each other, "Should we go after him?" Rosehip asked.

Stan shook his head, "Darjeeling's with him, we shouldn't overcrowd him."

Foster nodded before adding his opinion to the mix, "Agreed, besides, I don't fancy seeing them in a state of undress."

* * *

Standing outside the hall, Scott needed the fresh air. About ten years' worth of torment has come out and he was feeling drained. Thankfully Darjeeling wrapped her arms around him, "You okay?" she whispered.

Scott nodded, "Yes, just needed some air," he murmured before leaning into her embrace.

There they stayed for quite a while, before Scott spoke again, "I'm sorry, I seemed to have ruined this ball for you sweetheart."

Darjeeling kissed his cheek, "You didn't ruin anything Scott, I dare say that this ball fell flat, it just didn't feel right after the week we've had."

Lady Grey approached them, "I'd agree with you I'm afraid," she mentioned, causing them to turn to face her, "I knew I wouldn't get everyone staying on until the tournament was supposed to end and wanted to give our foreigners a proper send-off."

Scott nodded, "I understand and am more than willing to take on any punishment that you see fit, but I think we'll be heading home."

Lady Grey nodded, "Alright," she said before thinking for a moment, "Your punishment will be given to you on Monday in my office since the Sensha-dō team doesn't have to show up for the rest of the year, we'll go over it then."

Scott nodded and they walked home, where they found that Marie, Josh and Assam were still awake, "Milord?" Josh said, raising an eyebrow, "Something happen?"

Scott sighed, "You could say that Josh," he replied before kissing Marie on the forehead, "I'm heading off to bed, goodnight sweetie."

Marie smiled, "Night dad," she tiredly replied before losing her battle with sleep.

Darjeeling scooped her up and tucked her into her bed. She was just as surprised as Scott, Josh and Assam to hear Marie call Scott dad, but she wasn't opposed to including Marie in their growing family. Going to their bedroom, she saw that Scott was sitting on their bed. When he heard her enter, he looked up, "I think we need to have that talk now."


	16. Relationships and the Netherlands

The next morning, those that were leaving decided to depart quietly, so as to not cause any further issues. Since David, Charlotte and Elizabeth were staying on the _Ark Royal_ , they met the group for breakfast and spent the day with them.

Monday morning came and Scott woke up early and carefully extracted himself from Darjeeling's embrace. He knew it couldn't be put off, but he was curious as to what Lady Grey would decide for his punishment.

Walking into her office, Scott was surprised to see Carolus and Terre there as well, "Ah, Scott, good timing," Lady Grey said before gesturing to the open seat and nodding to Carolus.

Understanding the gesture, Carolus began, "With the current atmosphere in America and the happenings of the tournament, I am requesting asylum here in Japan and transferring to St Gloriana."

Scott blinked, "Welcome to St Gloriana then Carolus," he said, shaking his hand before looking to Lady Grey, curious.

Lady Grey just smiled and motioned for him to wait as Carolus took a deep breath, "My Lord Perkins, I understand that the Perkins Family still does things in the Old Ways. I, therefore, request your permission as Terre's Head of House to Court her."

The formal language had immediately informed Scott as to the seriousness of the matter, but he was still shocked at what he was being asked. Looking to Terre, he asked: "What is your opinion on the matter Terre?"

Terre tried to keep the tears back, but failed, "Scott, we've been working ourselves to this point ever since you introduced us."

Smiling, Scott interrupted her, "Say no more, I have all I need," he remarked, drawing stares from everyone, "Carolus my friend, if you hurt her, I will set Darjeeling on you, maybe Marie too."

Carolus and Terre held each other while thanking him, then Scott kept the shocks coming, "It's no problem, _brother_ ," this drew the stares again, "What? If they take the courtship all the way, he'll be my brother-in-law," he remarked before laying a hand on both Terre's and Carolus' shoulders, "I guarantee you that Marie will beg to be your flower girl and that you'll give in, Darjeeling and I already have."

Thanking him again, Terre and Carolus left the office, leaving Scott with Lady Grey, "You know," Scott began, "I think that's the happiest and most giggly I've ever since Terre."

Lady Grey snickered, "I can't wait for them to have children, then you'll see a whole new side to her."

Scott chuckled, "I guess we will," he replied before looking to her, "My punishment?"

Lady Grey smiled, "That was it," she replied. Seeing Scott's disbelieving face, she continued, "It's like you and Darjeeling did with Marie, how can I punish you for doing something I so very much wanted to do myself?"

Scott nodded before looking at her, "Speaking of Marie…" he began.

Lady Grey smiled, "You and Darjeeling want to adopt her?" she asked.

Scott nodded, "She's become a member of the family already, Darjeeling and I both think of her as our daughter, and she thinks of us as her mother and father if her calling me dad Saturday night is anything to go by."

Lady Grey smiled, "I'll get the paperwork started then, you better head home and tell them the good news."

Scott nodded and left, head-spinning slightly at everything that occurred. Once he got home, he heard the sounds of celebration greeting him, it was clear that Terre and Carolus had beat him home. Scott smiled, remembering something that he had told Darjeeling earlier in the school year about Terre just needing to find the right person to settle down with.

Entering the house and hanging his coat, he walked to the main room where everyone was in a festive mood. Scott was about to join them when a knock sounded from the door. Everyone paused in what they were doing and looked to the door to see Scott already heading in that direction.

Scott opened the door and saw a postman standing there, "Lord Perkins," he said, "Missive from the UN, looks important."

Scott nodded and took it from him, "Thank you," he replied before turning back into the house and shutting the door.

Opening it, he saw that everyone's eyes were in him, "UN," he said as he sat down next to Darjeeling. Scott decided to read it aloud, "Lord Scott George Perkins, Lady Darjeeling Perkins (future), Mr Joshua Hall, Mr Foster Hall, Mr Stanley Stewart, Lady Assam, Lady Orange Pekoe, Lady Rosehip, Mr Carolus Adolphus, and Lady Rukuriri. The International Criminal Police Organization has completed their investigation into the World War Tournament and the actions of one Vladimir Lavrinenko and has completed the list of charges he is to be brought upon. The International Court of Justice requests the presence of the above for their testimony. The trial will begin on April 20 and continue until such time as a verdict is reached. We shall expect you on April 19 at 1100, local time, at The Peace Palace, The Hague, Netherlands so that you may be briefed on guidelines and what will be expected of you over the course of the trial. Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, President ICJ. PS: It is doubtful that we will have Mr Lavrinenko to defend himself, however, we will carry on as his lawyers have indicated their participation, just to warn you, they will try to get the case, and failing that witnesses, thrown out, do not rise to their provocations, allow us to deal with it."

Everyone was silent after that, not quite sure what to say. Finally, Darjeeling looked at Scott, "We need to be there in ten days," she remarked.

Scott shook his head, "Nine days, timezones," he replied.

At this, he picked up his phone and texted Lady Grey, letting her know about the matter. She quickly responded that she would set an aircraft aside for them before mentioning that the entire school was in an uproar over what happened. Scott chuckled at the next line she has sent, "I think ICJ hearings are public," at everyone's confused faces, he explained, "Lady Grey wishes to know if the ICJ broadcasts the hearings as the entire school wants to watch."

Annabelle shook her head, "The ICJ doesn't, but they allow press into hearings, and they can stream live footage out."

Scott nodded. As he was setting down the envelope, another paper fell out. Picking it up, he read it out, "I have no doubt that the Students of St Gloriana will wish to see what happens, so I have already cleared the ability for St Gloriana to send a press team and have them stream footage out, enclosed are instructions for the team and their badges. Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, President ICJ."

Scott chuffed, "Well that answers that question…"

This set most people off laughing and everyone went back to the celebration they had been having before Scott stepped in.

* * *

Over the course of the next few days, the St Gloriana press team had practised with their cameras and planned how to get the best coverage. While they were confident in their abilities, Scott made a point to explain to them that no outbursts would be tolerated.

Soon, the day arrived and they all loaded up into the Beaufighter that St Gloriana had been given and they began their flight to the Netherlands. With the plane being stripped of everything unnecessary, and the most care being taken for comfort, they made quick time, landing in Amsterdam late April 18, just enough time to check into the hotel and get some quick shut-eye before making their way to The Hague.

Five minutes early, the group strolled up to The Peace Palace, ready for their briefing. An official met them at the door, "Greetings, I am Viola Moreno, I will assist you in learning what will be expected of you tomorrow and what you should think about for your testimonies."

It didn't take very long before they were led into the courtroom. Viola gestured to a set of chairs off to the side, "In order to ensure that you will be able to draw support from your friends, you will all be sitting over here, the prosecution will call you up and ask you some questions. Answer truthfully, and as best you can, and it will be over quickly."

Turning to look at them, she was surprised to see that no one seemed curious, "Any questions?" she asked.

Scott looked around and shook his head, "I think we know the rest Miss Moreno, thank you."

Taking their leave, they managed to get outside before they started to laugh, "Poor girl," Scott chuckled, "I don't think she quite knew what hit her."

While they had been on the plane, Scott had been going over as much of the expected protocol as he could assume, what with his experience in the House of Lords. Much to his surprise, Scott was looking forward to the next day, eager to put this chapter of his life behind him…


	17. The Trial of the Century

Scott woke up that morning and looked to his side. His arm was pinned under Darjeeling but they had a few hours yet before they needed to head to the court. He knew that the next few months were going to be interesting for them, but for now, he took in the sight of his wife-to-be, and soon-to-be mother of his child, sleeping peacefully. Then, her eyes sprung open and she ran for the attached ensuite, the sound of her retching springing Scott from the bed and by her side. Pulling her hair out of her face, Scott rubbed her back, "It's begun then," he whispered.

It took Darjeeling a minute to respond, "That or it's just nerves, a case could be made for both," she replied before leaning against him, "I blame you for this," she murmured.

Scott pressed a kiss to her hair, "That's fine sweetheart, just remember, it took two."

Darjeeling cracked a small smile at that, "I don't regret it, Scott, I just wish it didn't involve this."

Scott nodded before rubbing her back some more, "If I remember my reading correctly, then Morning Sickness should pass after the first trimester," he remarked.

Darjeeling moaned, "That's two months away! We'll be married by then and I don't fancy spending our wedding night hovering over the toilet because I made poor choices with dinner."

Scott sighed, "We might want to think about telling everyone soon."

Darjeeling nodded before regretting that immediately as her head started throbbing. Just then, the church bell rang seven times. Scott came to a decision, "I'll go tell everyone now, I get the feeling we'll need to hold onto a happy thought to get through today, why don't you rest, I'll come when we need to get dressed," he said.

Darjeeling voiced her agreement and Scott carried her back to bed, much to her amusement. Kissing her forehead, Scott put on some jeans and a simple shirt to meet everyone for breakfast.

Coming to the group in the lobby, Rosehip was the first to notice Darjeeling wasn't him, "Is Lady Darjeeling on her way?"

Scott grimaced, "Darjeeling is having a lay-in today," he remarked before smirking, "Morning Sickness is a pain in the morning."

Everyone did a double-take on what he said, not sure if he was insinuating what he was saying. Finally, Josh spoke up, "Milord? Are you saying…"

"That Darjeeling and I need to make sure that you two are still up to being our child's Godparents? Yes, yes I am," Scott remarked before smiling, "Darjeeling and I knew the day after we got back from the tournament, we plan on visiting the doctor's office just after the wedding, hopefully, we'll find out the gender."

Everyone congratulated Scott and Josh nodded, saying that they would do it. Soon, too soon for Scott, he was leaning over Darjeeling, waking her so they could get dressed, it only took him a moment, but they soon were dressed in their best clothes and walking into the Peace Palace.

* * *

After they took their seats, both sets of lawyers entered. Scott quickly ran his eyes over them, the prosecutor looked serious but also calm. Catching Scott's eye running over him, the prosecutor gave him a single nod, one of respect and of deference. The defence team gave off an air of defiance and privilege, Scott picked up on that quite quickly thanks to his yesteryears.

Soon, the fifteen judges walked in and everyone rose, President Yusuf spoke, "Be seated," he ordered before looking at the file in front of him, "The case of USA versus UK, Germany, Japan, Russia, Italy, France and Finland; Subject: Vladimir Lavrinenko's committing of the following: Knowingly and Wilfully committing and planning to commit Grave Breaches to the Third Geneva Convention, Knowingly and Willfully committing and planning to commit Grave Breaches to the Second Geneva Convention, Capital Murder, Sexual Assault, Assault and Battery, and Kidnapping is in session," he barked before noting something, "Defense is recognised."

The defence lawyer stood up, "Your Honours, this case is, put simply, a complete fabrication. Slander even, against my client. Therefore, I move that the case be dismissed."

With those words, the lawyer caused a stir amongst the general public. Scott's Dutch was slightly rusty, but he thought he heard the words for coward and rat thrown about quite a bit. Finally, President Yusuf banged his gavel, "I shall have order!" he called. Once he finally got it, he fixed the lawyer with a withering stare, "Considering that the evidence has been vetted through INTERPOL, and the International Laws are quite clear on these matters, I dismiss your proposal."

The defence lawyer spluttered before sitting back down. Yusuf looked up at where the witnesses sat, concern in his eyes, but eager to get on with it, "If there are no further interruptions, then the Prosecution shall lead with their opening statements."

The prosecuting lawyer stood up, "Thank you, your honour," he began before walking to the front of his desk, "I, John Lothian of Britain, represent the interests of the United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Federated Republic of Germany, Japan, Russia, Italy, France and Finland in this case," here he paused for a moment to steel himself for the outbursts that were sure to come, "As the prosecution, it is my duty to prove to you that the crimes which Mister Lavrinenko stands accused of were committed by him with full stability of mind. That these crimes breach the laws of Warfare only strengthens our resolve to see this to its conclusion. The amount of evidence is overwhelming and it disgusts me to be of the same species as the perpetrator. I do believe that the evidence will support our statement: that Vladimir Lavrinenko Knowingly and Willingly committed these crimes with the intent for Lord Scott Perkins of Great Britain to be amongst the dead!"

Sitting, they listened to the defence lawyer belittle them before finishing his opening statement with the remark: "Clearly someone is lying here, and it isn't me."

Yusuf looked up at Lothian, "Prosecution may call their first witness," to which he called Scott up to the stand.

After taking the Oath all witnesses would take regarding telling nothing but the truth, Lothian looked at his notes, "Would you, for the record, state your name and titles?"

Scott nodded, "Lord Scott George Perkins GC, former Duke of Norfolk."

Lothian bowed his head slightly in respect for him, "My Lord, would you, in your own words, please tell the story of what happened on the first of March, this year?"

Scott thought for a moment, "With the World War Tournament having started a mere twenty-eight days ago, everyone was getting tense, none of the other teams had been spotted yet and our scouting parties had been suggesting that we were alone for a radius varying between ten and twenty miles. I walked into the command tent to be greeted by Lady Assam with information before I had taken a single sip of my morning cup of tea. Her intelligence had said that Saunders had played the part of Poland circa 1939, for Pravda and Kuromorimine. It was then that we got word that we had spotted a group of infantry that we believed to be an Anzio and Jakasota alliance forces in origin. Wasting little time, I sent out two groups of Armour and Infantry while also ordering our Air Wings to take to the sky, just to be safe."

Lothian nodded, looking at his notes, "I understand that the pilots of your Air Wings failed to obey your orders?"

Scott sighed, "Yes, and I called them out on what I learned later was our General Radio Channel, meaning that everyone heard me rant at them."

Lothian nodded, gesturing for him to continue, "After berating our pilots, I listened with half an ear to the reports from the front until I heard Lady Darjeeling order a fighting withdrawal, knowing that she wouldn't order a withdrawal unless things were dire, I told them to belay the fighting part of their retreat as their reinforcements were at least ten minutes away from them. They managed to turn the battle around _without_ any air cover and, after ordering everyone to return to base and give me figures on losses, I assigned Joshua Hall and Lady Assam onto a simple supply run to the Drop Zone where supplies were being dropped every Sunday and Wednesday."

Here, Scott took a few breathes to calm himself, and, much to his relief, Lothian spoke up, "Where-after you were informed that due to your Air Force not flying the ordered operation, you lost around ten per cent of your ground-based fighting force, is that correct?"

Scott nodded, "That is correct, I then removed the commander of the Air Force from command of combat operations, leaving him as a member of the base guard. It was then, after receiving a health scare, that I got the word that Mister Hall and Lady Assam were missing."

Lothian nodded before looking at his notes, "Let us fast forward to the first of April," he remarked, glossing over the relative inactivity of them searching for their friends, "You were contacted that evening by a member of Ōarai stating that a turncoat had rescued both your members and their commander, what happened after that?"

Scott took a steadying breath, this would be difficult, "Well, after alerting Joshua's brother, Foster Hall, as to what had happened, we reached the predetermined meeting place with minutes to spare. I had the crews of four Matildas, one Churchill VII and the Centurion III with me for my armoured support and fifty infantry under the command of Lieutenant William Wallace of the Highland Academy running overwatch operations for us. We, that is Darjeeling and myself, knew that Miho wouldn't resort to such dirty tactics, but at this point, everyone was tense and flinched at the slightest noise," he remarked before looking down slightly, "I'll admit, at that point, I didn't care how it ended, I just wanted to go home."

Lothian shook his head, "If I was in your position, I have no doubt that I would too, but regardless, what happened?"

"Upon Lady Nishizumi's arrival, she immediately turned over Joshua and Assam to our care," he remarked before gripping the armrests, "It was then that we heard a large explosion and we saw a crater and in a moment after that, a member of my infantry force dragged a member of East High out of the nearby forest, it was then that we noticed that Mister Wallace was missing and it was only after looking closely at a person who was near the explosion that I realized that he had been at the centre of the detonation."

Most of the public gallery gasped at that, while those that hadn't were currently regretting their breakfast choices. But Lothian had to push on, "It was then that a former member of East High informed you that it was probable that his former allies conducted this attack, what did you do?"

Scott shifted in his seat, ready for this, "Between Miho and I, we accumulated about six hundred people and, with the information that Carolus gave us, prepared an assault upon their base," he said before looking up, "Those that surrendered were evacuated as per tournament regulations, bar Lavrinenko, who was kept around as Lady Orange Pekoe had discovered the files you have."

Lothian nodded, "Copies have been given to the Justices for review, please continue."

Scott shrugged, "There's not much left to tell, I ordered, with the agreement of Lady Nishizumi, the termination of Mister Lavrinenko's participation in the tournament; whereafter, it was discovered that we were the only remaining teams on the field."

Lothian nodded, "Wherein Lady Darjeeling and Lady Nishizumi conducted a 'flag tank duel' in order to determine the victor of the tournament. Thank you, My Lord," he remarked before turning to the Justices, "Prosecution yields."

Nodding, Yusef moved his mic in front of him, "The court recognizes the Defense."

The Defense lawyer swaggered up, his body language confusing Scott until the lecherous vermin opened his mouth, "Perkins," he began.

Lothian stood, "Objection! The current witness is a member of the nobility of Great Britain and should be addressed as such!"

Yusef nodded, "Sustained," he said before turning back to the defence, "You will either refer to him as 'My Lord' or 'Lord Perkins' I will not tolerate any further attempts to smear upon the credibility of the witnesses. Consider this your final warning!" he sneered.

The defence seemed to bit his tongue before nodding, "Very well then," he muttered, " _Lord_ Perkins," he began again, clearly sarcastically using Scott's title, "I have it under good authority that you said quote: 'East High has forfeited their last chance for mercy.' did you not?"

Scott internally rolled his eyes, "Considering that I do not give undeserved second chances to murderers and rapists, I stand by my statement, though I reference that all prisoners…"

The defence cut across him, "But you clearly had the intent to ensure that my client would suffer, would you disagree?"

Scott kept his temper in check, though some of the audience were clearly getting riled up, even if he couldn't tell whose side they were on, "I would."

The defence blinked, "You would?"

Scott nodded, "I and Lady Nishizumi decided to completely eliminate the forces of East High from the tournament. _That_ was what I was referring to, nothing more."

The defence seemed to break as he asked, "But you did intend harm towards my client, correct?"

Scott raised an eyebrow, "No, I knew he would be tried by the ICJ so let justice take its course."

The defence just opened and shut his mouth like a fish, prompting Scott to look to the Justices, confusion on his face before Yusef nodded, "That will be all Lord Perkins, thank you for your cooperation."

Scott inclined his head and returned to his seat next to Darjeeling. Lothian continued calling witnesses, first Miho, then Günther, then on and on it went until Rukuriri was the only one left to call. However, considering the lateness of the hour, Yusef adjourned the court for the evening.

* * *

Upon their return to the hotel, Scott turned on the TV to see what the world thought about the proceedings. He didn't wait long before a news anchor began reporting on the story, "And now onto our main story of the day and what looks to be a few days yet as the International Court of Justice's president, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf just announced the adjournment of the day's session. Our team of legal analysts join us tonight along with our Chief Political analyst, James Williams, as well as a team on the ground, reporting from the Peace Palace in The Hague. Let's start with Anne's team in The Hague and see what the situation on the ground is. Anne?"

Here the screen flicked to one of the insets showing a young reporter, "Thank you, George," she began, "After the Court was called to session, almost immediately, the Defense Lawyer for Mister Lavrinenko, one John Witfield of the United States, attempted to dismiss the case by claiming that the case was merely slander against his client," she remarked. Scott didn't know much about reporting, but he assumed that one of the first rules would have been about showing anger on camera. As it was, everyone could see that she didn't believe Witfield's argument.

Continuing on after showing Witfield making the case for dismissal and Yusef's rejection, she said: "After they made their opening statements, the Prosecution led by questioning Lord Scott Perkins GC of the United Kingdom, and he had this to say…" they then showed the end of his testimony from the point where he started to talk about the final assault on East High.

Then the original anchor came back, "Thank you, Anne," he said before looking to the camera, "We are now joined by our team of Legal Experts, John Melbourn and Stewart Falcon. John, how did the two sides start off with their opening statements?"

John turned to George, "Well George, to look at them, the Prosecuting Lawyer set the bar quite high as he laid out their case and that they felt confident about their chances."

George nodded, "And what of the defence?"

"Well George, I expected more from them," he remarked, "After all, they are defending against the accusations of committing War Crimes, those are crimes that you just need to be _suspected_ of having committed in order to face punishment and so far, they handed the first day to the Prosecution."

George nodded before turning to the other man there, "Stewart, you've battled in court, what did you make of how the Prosecution handled their witnesses?"

Stewart leaned forward as the network showed video from Darjeeling's testimony next to him, "They handled themselves quite well, they asked clear, concise questions and the witnesses gave as much information as was relevant to the case and never any more. But I think the star of the day was Lord Perkins' handling of the broken record questions from the defence."

George nodded before turning to the camera, "Thank you, Stewart, we turn now to Chief White House Correspondent, Anthony Exeter for the political stances on the matter. Good evening Anthony."

Anthony nodded, "Good Evening George. The White House hasn't officially said anything, but most of the country and people on the Hill have seen the President's Tweet, stating quote: 'Clearly these British and Japanese are trying to slander our _GREAT_ nation. America will _NOT_ give into _BULLIES_ ' already, this has caused rumblings as both the British and Japanese Diplomats have withdrawn into private counsel with their governments, the world waiting to see how these two staunchest of America's allies respond."

George nodded, "Thank you, Anthony, in other news, Buckingham Palace confirms that the planned celebrations for the Queen's centenary birthday will go forward, even as rumours swirl that the Queen is preparing for some other celebration."

After hearing that, Scott turned off the TV. It seemed as though most of the world, bar America, was behind them. Though he would soon find out just how far the international community was willing to go…


	18. The Final Day of the Trial

The next morning, Scott and Darjeeling were in a rapidly familiar position, Darjeeling hovering over the toilet and Scott rubbing her back. When Darjeeling finished, she leaned into Scott's embrace, eyes barely open. Scott thought for a moment, then he stood up, it may be four in the morning, but he was sure that Lothian would be awake.

As luck would have it, Lothian quickly answered, "Mr Lothian, would it be possible for Darjeeling to skip today's proceedings? She's not feeling well."

Lothian thought for a moment, "My Lord, you may send a representative with Rukuriri, I do not believe you need to have everyone come today."

Scott sighed in relief, "I'll let everyone know, we'll decide on who to send."

Hanging up the phone, Scott went back to Darjeeling, "you can have a lay-in today dear, Lothian said we can send a representative for the rest of the trial, Rukuriri still needs to testify so she'll go with them today," he said, lifting her and carrying her back to their bed.

Once it was a more decent hour, and after getting up a few more times that morning, Scott walked down to the lobby where he found most everyone was there, "I talked with Mr Lothian this morning, if one of you will go with Rukuriri today, we can just send a single representative to the remainder of the trial."

Josh frowned, "Is everything okay Milord?" he asked.

Scott sighed, "Morning sickness is kicking Darjeeling hard, we spent most of the morning in the ensuite because of it."

Elizabeth spoke up, "I'll go with Rukuriri today, then we'll go from there."

Scott thanked her before hurrying back to his room. Everyone grew concerned at this but didn't say anything. Elizabeth and Rukuriri soon arrived at the Peace Palace where they were greeted by John Lothian himself, "Lady Rukuriri, Miss Wellesley, if you'll both walk with me, I need to impart some concerns that cropped up this morning."

Sharing a look, Rukuriri and Elizabeth joined him in the garden, "Now, I'm sure you have seen what the news is reporting about foreign reactions to this trial?"

Elizabeth shrugged, "Just that the American President is upset about this. Why?"

Lothian sighed, "The British, German, Japanese, and Russian governments have signed a resolution stating that 'the governments that sign this resolution do hear-by declare that they are willing to see the Court's decision maintained in accordance with International Law _by force if required'_."

Elizabeth's eyes widened, "There is International support for an invasion of America if they do not abide by the Court's decision?"

Lothian nodded, "They're not the only ones, other countries are signing it as we speak, last I heard even the Vatican City was putting pen to paper and signing it."

There was only one phrase that came to mind at that, and Rukuriri put it quite elegantly, "Holy Shit!"

Lothian chuckled, "Quite literally in this case."

Elizabeth though kept her wits about her, there was a reason she had been sorted into Ravenclaw on the Pottermore site after all, "What has the American reaction been thus far?"

Lothian shrugged, "So far, silence, Trump hasn't tweeted or even made a public remark, not even the White House press secretary has held a briefing."

There wasn't much else to say, so they headed for the courtroom. After the judges entered, Lothian called Rukuriri to the stand, "Lady Rukuriri, we've heard from the command staff of the St Gloriana led alliance, would you please tell the court what the lower rank officers' reaction on the first of March were?"

Rukuriri nodded, "In regards to the battle, we shared Lord Perkins' outrage at our air support, in regards to hearing that Mister Hall and Lady Assam were missing, everyone was worried. The girls may not have known Joshua that well and the same with the boys and Lady Assam, but we knew the other very well and knew that they wouldn't just get lost."

Lothian nodded, "And of the first of April?"

"Joy that they were found, but worry about what had happened in that month," she replied.

Lothian bowed, "Prosecution yields your honours."

President Yusef nodded, "Defense may cross-examine."

Witfield stood up and walked over to the stand. Elizabeth may not have had Scott's years of political experience, but she could tell something big was about to happen. "Lady Rukuriri," he began, "Would you say that you are a trusted member of Lady Darjeeling's staff?"

Rukuriri thought for a moment, the question puzzling her, "I would say that Lady Darjeeling trusts me, but I am not a member of her staff, no."

Witfield blinked then changed his line of questions, "Would you say that you would call Lady Darjeeling, and by extension Lord Perkins, friends?"

Rukuriri nodded, "I would."

"So then," he questioned, "Why is it that upon the conclusion of the tournament, you attempted to commit suicide?"

The crowd gasped, and Elizabeth's eyes widened, surely he wouldn't use that dirty tactic. Lothian tried to nip this in the bud, "Objection! The question has no bearing upon the case!" he called.

Witfield wasn't dissuaded, "The truth is, you didn't consider them friends as you never had anyone, nor will…"

Yusef realised what was happening a moment too late as Rukuriri burst into tears on the stand. "Objection sustained! Mister Witfield! I believe I told you what would happen if you attempted to slander the witnesses again! I call a twenty-minute recess!" he shouted, banging his gavel harshly.

While Elizabeth was shocked at what had happened, the recess allowed her to push her way to the stand as the international press had descended upon Rukuriri like a flock of vultures. When she got there, she took Rukuriri into her arms and gently began to rock her, as she would for when her baby cousins were being fussy. The glares she sent to the press kept them back for enough time for Yusef to call guards to escort them and Witfield from the room. He and a few of the other justices walked over while the others waited just off to the side, anxious about what had happened and how it could have affected Rukuriri so badly. Finally, Elizabeth spoke, "It was a week after the tournament ended and one of the other pilots said the same thing to her."

Yusef called a huddle of the justices, then returned to them, "Please resume your seats in the gallery, you'll see why in a moment."

Heading to their seats, well Elizabeth carrying Rukuriri to their seats, she continued rocking Rukuriri and rubbing her back. Soon, everyone was back in their seats and waiting for the justices to speak. Yusef didn't disappoint, "After all that we've heard, we have come to a decision," here he paused for dramatic effect, "John Witfield, for repeated slander of the witnesses, in particular, Lady Rukuriri, and being in contempt of court policies, you are to pay a 15000 USD fine, that fine will be paid to the Lady Rukuriri. Furthermore, we find the accused, Vladimir Lavrinenko, guilty on all counts and herewith sentence him to death!"

Banging the gavel, the justices walked off. Elizabeth pulled Rukuriri along, fighting through the press until they finally reached their hotel. The bus-boy noticed their plight and quickly let them in and slammed the door in the faces of the press, even if that did little to dissuade them. However, Scott met them at the lobby, "There you are! We've been worried, Darjeeling would've come down, but she's still hovering over the toilet," he said while drawing Rukuriri into a hug, "How are you feeling Rukuriri?" he whispered.

Rukuriri didn't say a word as she clung to Scott, but he got the message, she was hurting bad. Taking her up to his room, they found that everyone was waiting for them. "We've got a choice Milord," Foster said, "We can either stay here until the _Ark Royal_ arrives in two weeks, or we can get on the plane and head home now."

Scott looked around, "Somehow I get the feeling that we all want to head home," he remarked. He wasn't surprised to see everyone agreeing, "Right, pack your bags, we head for home!"

As everyone left, Scott took a look around the room, so much had changed since that late August day when they rolled out the Centurion from the C-130, and yet, he wouldn't trade any of it for his old life. He was already looking forward to the next chapter of his life, being a married man and a father…


	19. Celebrations

Time flew quickly for the group and soon Graduation was upon them, though Scott and Darjeeling were focused on their wedding that Wednesday. They were certain that everything was perfect, but they couldn't help but feel nervous, Darjeeling was finishing her first trimester and Scott couldn't help but feel as though something was going to happen. Soon though, Scott, Josh, Darjeeling and Assam were in their gowns ready for the ceremony and they were waiting just outside the auditorium. As the figurative heads of their schools, Scott and Darjeeling would enter together and first, displaying the union between the schools, while also reminding people of the actual union between them. Soon, strains of _Over the Hills and Far Away_ as arranged by John Tams could be heard and they began walking down the aisle. Scott looked over to Darjeeling, "A slight preview of Wednesday, love," he whispered.

Darjeeling smiled at him, "I'm surprised we're not quivering wreaks right now."

Scott chuckled and soon they stood in front of their seats. They were pleased that many of the people they fought side-by-side with for four months came to watch, even if it meant suffering through Alexandre's presence. The actual ceremony didn't take long, Lady Grey said a few words about how she was honoured to have taught them and the former Headmaster of Yorkshire said a few words about how proud he was of his former students. After that point, they were dismissed for the last time where most of them went to an after-party that the Student Council were putting on for them. Everyone was having a great time, even Josh and Assam, then people started clamouring for Scott and Darjeeling to speak and, after looking at each other and shrugging, they did so, "It's been a long road to get to this moment, and the past few months have given us some of our worst nightmares," Scott remarked, briefly looking at Josh and Assam before continuing, "But they have also given us our brightest hopes and our wildest dreams."

It surprised no one that he looked directly at Darjeeling when he said that last line and Darjeeling picked up the impromptu speech effortlessly, "When I was first told that we would have boys come and integrate into our school, I'll admit, I was worried as I was well aware of the consequences of what happened when boys and girls were in close proximity to each other."

At that, many laughed as they saw the irony in that statement and her current condition. But Darjeeling carried on, "But I could not have imagined finding my other half amongst them, and yet I, and many of you and your friends have."

Scott smiled and leaned into her before continuing, "Soon, we will go our separate ways and end the first of our books, it is up to each of us that the remaining chapters we have left to write are as memorable as the first."

Everyone cheered at that and then, surprisingly, Alexandre rose, "Lord Perkins, Lady Darjeeling, to say that I and my fellow pilots from Wellesley owe you both, and the rest of the team an apology would be an understatement," he began before looking down slightly, "We are raised, myself included, to think that we are better than our classmates due to our wealth, that we know it all. We do not. It was only after the tournament and some deep soul-searching that I understood, you went through hell not knowing where the man you called your brother was for a month, not even the officials knew where he was, but instead of obeying your commands, I, and the other pilots, resisted your command. We can only beg for forgiveness, even though, we do not expect you to."

Then Alexandre raised his glass, "To Lord and Lady Perkins! May your years be forever intertwined!"

Then someone called out: "And may your only problems be little ones!"

Laughing, as everyone saw the double meaning, they downed their drink, some were drinking some scotch that Scott wasn't sure he wanted to know how they got it, while others, like Darjeeling and himself, drank the punch which he could tell was still unspiked, hopefully, it would stay that way.

Thankfully it did and soon everyone parted. Scott and Darjeeling though had to run through the final preparations for their wedding. And so, June the Sixth came quickly for them.

* * *

Scott stood in his dressing room, which was their room at Arundel, with Josh, Foster and Stan. Though Josh would be the only one walking down the aisle after him, it still felt good having them together, "Well Milord," Foster said, "I'd say you've done well for yourself, this time last year, you were still dealing with Archibald and now, you're getting married and have a child on the way."

Scott smiled as he put his tie on, "I'd say that my fortunes have improved at least a thousandfold."

Stan snorted, "That's being a bit mild."

Everyone chuckled as Scott put on his jacket, "So?" he asked, "How do I look?"

Josh smiled the widest smile he had since the tournament, "Ready."

Scott took a deep breath, "Josh, would you go and see if the ladies are ready?" he asked.

Josh nodded and was about to leave when Scott, Foster and Stan walked into the reception hall and stopped, "Bloody Hell," Scott whispered.

There, sitting off to the right side of the aisle was Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip. Taking the initiative, they were sitting on his side of the hall, after all, Scott walked up to them, "Your Majesties, it is an honour to see you," he remarked.

The Queen smiled, "Hello Lord Perkins, I'm looking forward to this."

Philip smirked, "Yes, she's been planning for months on being here to see off her favourite lord to married life."

Scott smiled, "A surprise for sure, but a most welcome one," he remarked before nodding to Josh. Then he set about talking with their various friends and family they had invited, there was a lot of them after all.

Josh hurried to where the girls were getting dressed, anxious to see how Darjeeling would react. Knocking on the door, Assam bayed him in and he greeted Pekoe and Rosehip before turning to Assam, "Where's Darjeeling?" he asked after pecking her lips.

"Over here Josh," she replied.

Josh spun to the other side of the room where he saw Darjeeling in the traditional white dress of a bride, "Let's hope Scott retains a few of his senses long enough to get through the vows," he murmured before blinking, "Oh, Darjeeling, you didn't happen to sent an invite to Her Majesty, did you?"

Darjeeling blinked, "Uh no, why?"

Josh chuckled, "Because, sitting on Scott's side of the hall is Her Majesty, the Queen and her husband, it appears they invited themselves."

Darjeeling's eyes widened, "How? Why?" she asked.

Josh shrugged, "One of two reasons I suspect: one, she's here to see off Scott, she always did hold a soft spot for him, or two, she here for the cake."

Darjeeling cocked an eyebrow and Josh shrugged, "It's as best an explanation I've got, besides, the Queen is known to enjoy a good cake."

Darjeeling sighed and Assam asked her if something was wrong, "Perhaps not, I can't help but feel uneasy, and it's not the normal nerves on one's wedding day or the baby, and I can't lay my finger on it."

Josh looked at Assam, unsure of what to make of that before turning back to Darjeeling, "I'm sure it will be fine, Terre is keeping an eye on things and I'm sure the Queen's guards are also keeping a very close eye on things."

Darjeeling nodded, then walked over to them, "Well, shall we?"

Taking Assam's arm, Josh led them to the main hall. Seeing Josh, Scott walked to the front of the hall from speaking with Jasmine and her parents. It was then that the song _Flower of Scotland_ began playing and Josh and Assam walked down the aisle. Once they walked past Scott, the familiar strains of Edward Elgar's _Nimrod_ played and everyone stood, as Darjeeling herself walked down the aisle.

As Scott looked at his very soon-to-be wife gliding, much like an angel would, over to him, he blinked rapidly. Josh noticed and leaned over to him, "Everything alright Milord?" he whispered.

Scott nodded, small tears running down his cheeks, "Yes Josh, I'm just a lucky bastard if only mum and dad were here to see this."

Josh smiled, "In a way, they are."

Josh didn't get a chance to say anymore as Darjeeling stepped beside Scott, who lifted her veil and took her hands as the local Vicar from St Nicholas smiled as he observed them, "Marriage is a sacred thing," he began, "To dedicate yourself to your spouse for the rest of your lives is no small matter, nor is it your dedication alone, for marriage is a team effort. However, the love between you will strengthen that bond which you will forge here."

Here he paused, "Those that have an issue with this union, speak now, or forever hold your peace," he said. No one said a word, or breathed for that matter, "It is now then, as there are no objections, that the Bride and Groom exchange personal vows to each other," he remarked before looking at Darjeeling.

Darjeeling smiled, "Scott when we first met, my heart was captured by you when you first spoke. Now, after a scant year, we stand here, proclaiming our love to those we hold dear that it be eternal. And it most certainly is, as I pledge myself, heart, body and soul to you forever and more."

After allowing for a small amount of applause, the Vicar looked at Scott, and he did not disappoint, "Darjeeling, my love, not even a year ago, we stood in the kitchen of your apartment on the _HMSS Ark Royal_ , wherein, I proclaimed to you that, no matter how others would look upon us, you would always come first in my heart and my actions. And now, we stand here today, and I repeat that which I proclaimed in October, that I pledge myself in heart, body and soul to you forever and more."

The Vicar smiled as there was not a dry eye in the hall. It was then his turn to speak, "Do you, Lord Scott George Perkins GC, take this woman as the love of your life? To protect her, forever and now? To give her your unconditional love? So long as you both may live?"

Scott nodded, "I do."

And then the Vicar turned to Darjeeling, "And do you, Lady Darjeeling of St Gloriana, take this man as the love of your life? To protect him, forever and now? To give him your unconditional love? So long as you both may live?"

Darjeeling nodded, "I do."

"Then I present, for the first time, "Lord Scott and Lady Darjeeling Perkins!" the Vicar called before nudging Scott, "You may kiss the bride."

This led to a very passionate kiss and Josh chuckling, "As if he needed the encouragement," he whispered.

After a minute, Scott and Darjeeling finally separated enough so that they could continue the ceremony. They then led the party to the banquet hall where a brilliant feast was prepared for them. There they sat and ate, listening as both the Dawsons and Lady Grey swapped stories of them until, before Darjeeling could be embarrassed by yet another baby story, Josh and Assam stood and walked to the front of the hall, next to Scott and Darjeeling, "It is tradition for the Best Man and the Matron of Honour to make a speech, and since Scott and Darjeeling threw out most of the other traditions, we knew this would be the one to stay," Josh began before look at them, "When I first met him, Scott was already an accomplished student, but I was amazed at how quickly he picked up command of the Yorkshire Tankery Club as the European Tankery Circuit had been disbanded for a few years at this point. Once I asked him how he did all the things he could do with a tank and he told me 'I eat, sleep, and work in this hull, there's nothing it could hide from me.' the sad part was that it was true, many times, I'd find out that Scott had been locked out of the barracks and so spent the night in the Centurion III," he remarked.

Many people frowned at the treatment of Scott, but Josh continued, "It was of great relief then, that we were shipped out to the _HMSS Ark Royal_ and St Gloriana, where, beyond everyone's expectations, and much to our relief, Scott met Darjeeling and it was love at first sight," here Josh raised his glass, "To the new couple! May all of your problems be little ones!"

After a call of "Hear, Hear!" Assam stepped forward, "After Scott had been shown around his office, Rosehip, Pekoe and I entered Darjeeling's office where I correctly called that he was clearly was hers when she made a stray comment about him singing to her."

Scott chuckled, "Seems we were matched and mated at once love," he whispered.

Darjeeling nodded as Assam continued, "It was amusing when, later that day, when we tried to set up Stanley, Pekoe, Scott and Darjeeling on a double date, Scott saw through our plan and sped up things by requesting that we ask Darjeeling if she would shadow Pekoe because 'we would do it anyway' and after that date, they've been inseparable," she said before raising her glass, "To Scott and Darjeeling, may you life be as long as your love is pure!"

Everyone cheered to that and soon, they had cut the cake and fed each other. Soon, the opening bars to Wham!'s _Wake me up, before you go go_ were playing and Scott led Darjeeling unto the floor. They seemed to float across the floor and soon, had finished.

Scott and Darjeeling danced for most of the rest of the ceremony. It was amusing to watch many of their guests as they watched Scott dance with first Lady Grey, then Mrs Dawson, then Assam, then to cap that off, he managed to snag a dance with the Queen, the jaws really hit the floor on that one.

Darjeeling was not to be left out, dancing with Mr Dawson, Joshua, the former Headmaster Jones from Yorkshire, and Prince Philip.

By the end of the day, everyone was smiling and watching as Scott and Darjeeling rode off in a horse-drawn carriage to the local train station, though they wanted to go off on their honeymoon, they had been asked to stand with Miho and Günther at their wedding and they would honour that agreement…


	20. Beauty in Life

Günther looked around the hospital waiting room, Scott and Darjeeling sat next to him, while his mother-in-law, he was still getting used to _that_ , was pacing in the middle of the room. Anglerfish was in various states, Mako was taking a short nap, she had been visiting them when Miho's water broke and, while he was focusing on Miho, she was getting the word out, Saori and Hana were sitting close with Saori having laid her head on Hana's shoulder about an hour ago, he had known there was something between them and it had taken the Hell that was the World War Tournament to bring in out, that Saori was texting, probably those who weren't here yet barely raised a mention. Then there was Yukari, she was unusually quiet for her but he could see that she was teeming with excitement, especially since he and Miho had told her that they'd be staying on the Ōarai school carrier and thus, close to the baby's "Auntie Yukari" and she couldn't wait.

It was then that he looked down at his hand, the gold band adorning his finger a weight he was getting used to, and the sight of which still drew him back to last month, and their wedding…

* * *

_Much to no one's real surprise, Miho and Günther's wedding would be taking place at the Nishizumi residence and Shiho was sparing no expense. Everything was perfect and Scott walked into where Günther was getting ready. Günther, like Scott, had gone with a simple tux for the occasion, but unlike Scott, Günther was pacing nervously, "Günther, what's wrong?" he asked._

_Günther sat on a chair in the room, "I'm just worried is all, what if Mum and Dad crash the wedding? What if they try to stop the whole thing?" he rambled._

_Scott chuckled, "I think your wife and mother-in-law would have a few words about that, and to be honest, anyone messing with Lady Nishizumi right now, either of them to be frank, has some form of a death wish, or are just tired of life," he remarked. Seeing that his words were starting to have an effect, he pushed on, "Besides, I have relatives who want me dead for one reason or another and they weren't stupid enough to try and crash my wedding."_

_Günther snorted, "Well having the Queen of the UK does help ensure that peace will reign."_

_Scott chuckled, "I suppose it does," he murmured, before laying a hand on Günther's shoulder, "I wouldn't worry too much about it, there are people in place to ensure that today goes off without a hitch," he remarked._

_Günther smirked, "True, I don't think anyone would get past Yukari, let alone the rest of Anglerfish."_

_Scott smiled before furrowing his brow, "Actually, there's a question: why Darjeeling and I and not any of your guys' friends? After all, you barely knew me since we didn't really interact that much at the St Gloriana/Ōarai match."_

_Günther shrugged, "You're close with Miho, plus we didn't know how our fellows would react to the news of our marriage followed closely by us expecting a baby."_

_Scott nodded, "And so went with the option that ensured that Miho would be surrounded by those who would support her and have supported her in the past," he finished before smiling, "Well, you best make your way to the arch, I'll go see if Darjeeling and Miho are ready."_

_Günther nodded and Scott parted ways, letting Günther mingle with the crowd. In their enthusiasm, they ended up inviting every Commander of every school that Ōarai had faced since the Sensha-dō team had been restarted, and of course, they had brought their friends and all of them had brought their families, and there was the Ōarai contingent to remember, then entire Sensha-dō team had been invited as well as the teammates that fought alongside them in the World War Tournament, and their families as well. All told, there was somewhere in the region of a thousand people who had come._

_All of a sudden, Günther's nerves came back with a vengeance. Shiho looked at him and walked over, "You alright Günther?" she asked._

_Günther shivered, "All these people make me nervous, what if I screw up when reciting our vows? What if something goes wrong?"_

_Shiho gripped his shoulder, "Günther listen to me," she ordered in a stern voice, "No one here today cares if you mumble through the vows, the only thing that we care about is you and Miho saying 'I do' when the priest asks you to and no one believes that anything else would happen."_

_Günther sighed, he subconsciously knew that he was stressing over nothing but until everything was all said and done he wouldn't be able to not stress about every little detail. Looking up from his feet, he asked, "What was your wedding like Lady Nishizumi?"_

_Shiho smiled, "I don't remember much of the actual ceremony as much of my attention was on Tsuneo and his was on me," she remarked before a pair of arms wrapped around her and her husband laid his head on her shoulder._

_Leaving them to it, Günther walked to the front of the hall where the minister stood. Seeing the anxiety on his face, the minister quietly chuckled, "Nervous I see," he remarked and Günther nodded, "Ah, don't worry about it, almost every groom I've had the pleasure of working with has been nervous, and they all are still with the wives they married."_

_Neither man said another word as Scott and Darjeeling began to walk down the aisle, followed by Miho._

* * *

The remainder of the ceremony had been quick and, like Scott had predicted, gone off without any problems whatsoever, though everyone was surprised when Miho threw her bouquet over her shoulder and it was Nonna who caught it. However, Günther's introspection was cut short as a nurse entered the room, "Mr Rommel?" she called, causing him to stand, "Would you come with me, you can meet your daughter now."

It would have been more accurate to say that Günther led her back to the room where Miho lay, recovering from the experience. However, before he entered the room, the doctor stopped him, "Mr Rommel, before you go in there, I want to warn you, your wife had a difficult birth, and I want to advise you and her to wait sometime before trying to have another child."

Günther frowned, it seemed like there was something the doctor wasn't telling him, "What is it Doctor, is something wrong?"

Doctor Tachibana sighed, he had hoped to discuss this after the couple had had time to process all that happened but had little choice, "It would appear that your wife has developed a case of secondary infertility due to her womb sustaining some damage during the delivery."

Günther was stunned, while he was glad that their daughter was fine, at least, he was assuming that she was fine, he was also certain that Miho would be devastated at this news. Bolstering himself up, Günther asked, "What are the chances that our daughter would be an only child?"

Doctor Tachibana sighed, "Very high, at least a seventy per cent chance."

Günther nodded and was about to go in when Tachibana stopped him, "I wouldn't mention anything about it to her in her current condition Mr Rommel."

Günther nodded, "Of course," he replied, then walked in. He pushed thoughts about another child out of his mind, they had only just had their first after all, and he looked over at their daughter, sleeping peacefully, probably the only time that she would for a few years. Looking to Miho, she was so far beyond exhausted that he doubted she would wake any time soon, so he sat next to the hospital crib and gently picked up and began rocking their daughter.

A few hours later, Miho woke up and saw Günther rocking their daughter in his arms, "Hey," she murmured.

Günther looked at her, "Hey," he whispered before standing and walking over to her and planting a kiss on her forehead, "How are you feeling?"

Miho sighed contently, "Still tired, but better after that rest," she remarked before her eyes shot open, "Oh Günther! I've completely forgotten what we had decided on her name!"

Günther smiled, "That's okay Miho, I told the doctors, Lena Monika Rommel has her name."

Miho relaxed as Günther took Lena out to meet her godparents and all her "aunts" knowing full well that something was off, though, as sleep overtook her, she couldn't place it.

* * *

Once Günther appeared with Lena in his arms, all the girls immediately crowded around him. Seeing this, Scott chuckled, "All our former classmates wanted to know how they can get girls to notice them, they just need to show up with a newborn in their arms."

Shiho chuckled along with him, "Speaking of which," she remarked, "How are things looking for your child?"

Scott smirked, and noticed everyone was looking at him, "Well, Darjeeling and I aren't expecting a child…"


	21. The start of the Next Generation

The intervening months had been busy ones for Scott, Darjeeling and the others, of course, after Scott dropped the bombshell of them expecting _twins_ of all things, it was understandably so. Scott and Josh had taken a light load for their first term at university, just in case Darjeeling went into labour early, they had even taken alternating days, so they would be available, and thankfully, their professors were understanding about the matter, well, after some of the more excitable ones calmed down that was.

* * *

December the Fourth began as any day, though unlike the past few months, neither Scott nor Josh had classes as they had finished their final exams the day before. This turned out to be a blessing as, not too long after Scott felt the bed shift, Darjeeling's hand suddenly, and violently, made contact with his chest, knocking the wind out of him, "Cor, Darling, what…"

Darjeeling cut across him, "It's happening, Scott! God, it hurts!" she shrieked.

This had Scott up in a flash and rushing to put on real clothes, thankfully he had been leaving a set of clothes out at night for this very reason and they were soon rushing to the local hospital, the same one where Miho had given birth and with the same doctor as well. However, unlike Günther, Scott hadn't anxious at all and had been allowed to stay with Darjeeling through the process.

Thankfully for them, it didn't take long for the twins to make their appearance in the world and, kicking and screaming though they were, they soon found their way to Darjeeling and Scott's arms. Scott held their daughter in his arms, "Little Angelica Elizabeth Perkins is going to be a studious one I think if her eyes darting around are anything to go by," he remarked, then he looked to Darjeeling, "How is our son?"

Darjeeling smiled, "William Carlous Perkins is quite tuckered out from screaming his lungs out earlier."

Scott smiled before standing and carrying Angelica over to the door, "I'm going to introduce Angelica to her Godparents, should I bring them back to meet their Godson?"

Darjeeling nodded, "If they are ready, just remember, Assam will probably be mush when you come out there."

Scott smirked but didn't say anything as he walked out. It had been a long road to this point, and he knew that the one before him was a longer one, but with his friends, and possible new brother-in-law, he knew that it would be a conquerable one.

* * *

_TO BE CONCLUDED!_


End file.
